How far would you go to be just like your favourite celebrity? In the case of writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, the answer lies within. The Lucas Clinic is a facility that injects uber-fans with celeb viruses, for a price of course. Their top salesman Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) is going undetected smuggling popular diseases through his own body and selling them on the streets for a payday. Unfortunately when one of the celebrity donors, Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon) dies, Syd must try and find a cure to prevent a similar fate.
Satire is present throughout Cronenberg’s screenplay; from salesmen gossiping about Hannah’s rumored custom made undergarments to clients desperately longing to become infected with the latest herpes strand. TV personalities Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim’s expound on the latest starlets’ ass shots (a TMZ-like broadcast). Some go so far as to consume genetically-grown cells, fashioned like steroid pork chops, of idols! This works without becoming too repetitive, after all we already live in a society that worships fame. Selections of Nicholas Campbell’s technical exposition are unclear, chiefly the technology enabling the illness to be contagious only to the buyer. Why does a warped face appear on the screen when the device bottles the germ?
As for the direction Brandon Cronenberg takes his cues from father David, most evident was imagery of binding man and machine together. Yet, he is also inspired by Lars von Trier, resonating through E.C. Woodley’s pronounced score, the extreme violence, and stylized hallucinations of Jones moving along a flowery hallway into a bedroom. Even the title credit for the movie is like Antichrist and Melancholia. Cronenberg’s interest seems to be in human anatomy; close-ups of eyes, long takes of needles going into the skin, and long Q-tips going up nostrils will make unprepared viewers squirm. Despite elements of horror, the director remains in control never relying on cheap scares. Instead he uses a sense of uneasy. Not bad for a first feature length film. Hopefully, in time, Brandon will establish himself further as an independent voice in this genre.
Caleb Landry Jones’ thin frame, quiet whispers and awkward posturing make him perfect as the lead. I haven’t always been a fan but here he works, transforming as the disease slowly devours his freckled body. His work is somewhat reminiscent of Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. One complaint is his goofy manipulation of a cane. Cronenberg alumni Sarah Gadon from Cosmopolis and A Dangerous Method, is touted as the desired image; less of a performance and more of a presence felt throughout. Joe Pingue and James Cade play bootleggers or “innovators”. Cade gives Jones a hard time and it’s fun to root against them. Familiar faces Malcolm McDowell and Wendy Crewson assume small parts; Gadon’s personal physician sporting skin grafts of famous people on his arm and the competing company sales-rep, respectively.
The most provocative contribution to Antiviral is Karim Hussain’s cinematography. One memorable initial image is of Jones, thermometer in his mouth, standing in front of a billboard featuring Gadon’s face. These facial graphics play a major role. Work environments are brightly lit with white walls alluding to a future so bright; I gotta wear shades vibe meets Logan’s Run. Beneath the pristine polish is the underbelly of a juxtaposed, gritty Toronto, heightened by dimly lit locations. When Caleb Landry Jones is locked in a room illuminated with blinding white light, blown up faces of Gadon appear on the wall contrasted with blood hitting the floor; beyond a doubt my favourite scene.
This film is deranged for sure but attention-grabbing nonetheless.
