Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sex, gore in creepy, brilliant Cronenberg body-horror pic.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Crimes of the Future
What's the Story?
In CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, humans have begun rapidly evolving in strange new ways, including losing the ability to feel pain. People have even started performing surgeries on one another. Performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) regularly grows new, unidentified organs, and his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux), surgically removes them in public in front of a crowd of onlookers. Saul and Caprice are approached by Wippet (Don McKellar) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart), of the National Organ Registry, who want to learn more about Saul's condition. Meanwhile, a small boy who can eat and digest plastic is murdered by his mother, who considers him a monster. The boy's father (Scott Speedman) asks Saul whether he and Caprice will perform a public autopsy on the boy's body, in the hope of uncovering another key to the secrets of evolution.
Is It Any Good?
While non-fans may be put off, those in the David Cronenberg club will be transported by this return to form, an exceedingly unusual but brilliant meditation on human bodies and passing time. Since his debut in 1969, Cronenberg has focused largely on the strange marriage of human-made technology and nature-made flesh, in masterworks like Videodrome, Dead Ringers, and Crash. After his 1999 eXistenZ, he began making less horror-centric and more mature efforts. Crimes of the Future is a surprising companion piece to his earlier body-horror movies, both complementing them and moving ahead. Without giving away the story's best twist, this movie contains Cronenberg's sharpest commentary on the human-led destruction of our own natural habitat.
That's not to say that Crimes of the Future is a downer. It constantly shocks and surprises with Cronenbergian inventions like a peculiar hanging bed shaped like a huge bug, designed to shift and adjust to help the user sleep better. (There's also a creepy "eating chair," supposedly designed with a similar intent.) But the movie's main focus is the concept of evolution, fascinating in all its emotional, biological layers. As bodies change, humans find ways of adapting, asserting control. As Timlin points out, surgery has become the new sex, and characters mutilate and manipulate their own flesh to express their inner beauty. Ever the master filmmaker, Cronenberg's cool, clinical filmmaking style perfectly expresses and visualizes his themes, and Howard Shore's thrumming score gives an edge of dread.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Crimes of the Future's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How is sex depicted? What values are imparted? How has sex evolved in this future?
What are the upsides and downsides of this particular future? Is it a "dystopian" vision? Is there anything hopeful?
If your body could evolve in a way of your choosing, what would it be like?
What is "body horror"? What are some other examples of this genre?
Movie Details
- In theaters : June 3, 2022
- On DVD or streaming : August 9, 2022
- Cast : Viggo Mortensen , Lea Seydoux , Kristen Stewart
- Director : David Cronenberg
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Gay Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Neon
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Run time : 107 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong disturbing violent content and grisly images, graphic nudity and some language
- Last updated : June 10, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate