Maps to the Stars
Starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska
Directed by David Cronenberg
If only David Cronenberg's latest could be described as “a bit of a mess.” Instead, this tale of dysfunction, privilege and psychoses is all too orderly.
And the staid nature of this is all the more disappointing given the presence of Mia Wasikowska, who, between Stoker and Only Lovers Left Alive, has proven herself to be one of the big screen's most enthralling agents of chaos.
Given that track record, we’re never quite convinced that her Agatha is actually an ingénue, newly arrived in La La Land with stars in her eyes and an obvious crush on the limo driver/aspiring actor (Robert Pattinson) who shuttles her around.
Of course, the burn marks she attempts to conceal hint at a traumatic past she'd also prefer kept under wraps. Details and old deviant behaviour emerge as she insinuates herself in the lives of a fading actress (Julianne Moore), the new age therapist who's trying to right her unbalanced psyche (John Cusack) and the monstrous child actor he's birthed into the world (Evan Bird).
Long-gestating, Maps to the Stars finally finds its way to theatres stripped of any sense of urgency.
With an opportunity to now put Hollywood's Botoxed flesh to the sword, Cronenberg and screenwriter Bruce Wagner instead opt to take meek jabs at pop psychology and vacuous sequels. And while the gory climax seems grafted on, at least the sight of one of these grotesques being mercilessly hit over the head allows a viewer to sympathize for the first time.
