Spider

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Year:	2002
Country of origin:	Canada / UK
Director:	David Cronenberg
Genre:	Psychological drama
Starring:	Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278731/
Tagline:	The only thing worse than losing your mind... is finding it again.
Favourite line:	"She's a cheap tart."

Somewhat overshadowed by 'the other' Spider related movie of the same year, this is David Cronenberg at his most poignant and introspective.

Spider, a mentally disturbed man in his thirties / forties checks into a hostel for the downtrodden, ruled with an iron fist by a matronly type and, whilst there, reflects upon the childhood that brought him to his current point in life.

Sound dull?
Yeah, I thought so too but, being Cronenberg, this is a dark and brooding affair indeed.
We view the action as does Spider himself, an observer, unable to influence events on screen. He's a little boy, watching as his father drinks too much down the local pub whilst his mother prepares dinner at home.
The father draws the attention of a local strumpet, Yvonne, and it's not long before they are meeting up regularly to indulge in a spot of 'ows yer favver' she taking cash for her contributions. One evening, his wife goes to meet him at the pub only to discover he has left, so she heads to his other haunt, the allotment, where she finds him in the potting shed, mid-coitus. In a fit of rage, the husband kills her and soon replaces her in the family home with Yvonne herself.
Spider, convinced that he is next to be dispatched, hatches a plot to rid himself of the troublesome tart, one that will lead to his downward mental spiral and ultimate incarceration.

Bleak, unrelentingly grim, this paints a tableau of domestic violence and squalid, under bridge sexual escapades, not flinchng from the details.
Subject matter that could be dull and flaccid is, in the hands of an auteur such as Cronenberg, brought to captivating life with a melancholy that truly breaks the heart. Special note should be made of the excellent Miranda Richardson playing the dual role of mother and mistress, a very fine actress and high quality MILF material to boot.
A good film.