Slow, intriguing Spider

David Cronenberg's Spider is a complex psychological portrait of a mentally ill man. The film follows Dennis Clegg (Ralph Fiennes), a perpetually mumbling mental patient who has been institutionalized for most of his life. As leaves his institution and settles at a boarding home for the mentally ill, Clegg begins to relive his past.

He has flashbacks of himself as a child, interacting with his mother (Miranda Richardson). He remembers his father (Gabriel Byrne), and his infidelities with the local "tart", Yvonne (also played by Richardson). Byrne kills Clegg's mother so he can pursue a relationship with Yvonne, and the movie deals with Clegg, both as an adult and child, coming to grips with the crime.

The acting in the film is superb. Ralph Fiennes performs well as Clegg, constantly muttering and fully immersed in his memories. Unfortunately, he is underused, as he spends most of his time furiously and illegibly writing in his journal or standing around in his memories with shameful looks on his face. Byrne and Bradley Hall, who plays young Clegg, also turn in solid performances. However, Richardson steals the movie. The fact that she plays two characters highlights her talents as well as serving the story. Her ability to assume two different characters is amazing. Without a sharp eye, viewers of the film will be hard pressed to realize the same actress is playing both roles.

One of the film's weaknesses resides in its confusing dialogue. One particular exchange between Young Clegg and his father seemed ridiculous, until the viewer recognizes that he is seeing the possibly inaccurate memories of a schizophrenic.

However, the major problem with the film is the pacing. This movie moved slower than a turtle on Valium crawling through wet mud. It felt like two and a half hours when the actual running time is 98 minutes. To be fair, the pacing wasn't unnaturally slow; it did serve the quietness and depth of the story. On the other hand, after the tenth scene in a row where Fiennes garbles while walking aimlessly around, even viewers with a long attention span will feel like someone with ADHD after eating a bag of Skittles.

The directing reflected the pace of the movie. Slow camera movements, slow dialogue, slow everything. If the acting weren't top notch, the film would be intolerable. Watching this film is like watching a boring professor lecture about something that could potentially be very interesting.

If you are tired, do not see this movie because you will assuredly fall asleep. If you have a short attention span, do not see this movie because you will spend the majority of the time playing with your zipper. If you are elderly, do not see this movie because you might age rapidly and lose what is left of your golden years. Finally, if you are a schizophrenic do not see this movie because you won't be able to distinguish the movie from reality, which can lead to potentially awkward and dangerous situations.

Do see Spider if you want to see excellent acting in a thoughtful film about family, memory and reality.