MINI-REVIEW: Maps to the Stars

MOVIE
Maps to the Stars

CAST
Julianne Moore,
Mia Wasikowska

RATING
R

RELEASE
February 27, 2015
(LIMTIED/VOD)

DIRECTOR
David Cronenberg

STUDIO
Focus World

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 52 minutes







STARS
***1/2








REVIEW:

If you love tabloid websites like TMZ, then chances are you may hate David Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars."  If there was ever a movie that both glorifies and flips off the Hollywood culture, this would be it.  Julianne Moore won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival last year for this film, and deservedly so in my eyes.  Moore, along with Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, and other recognizable celebrities make up this ensemble piece about the horrors that lie behind the scenes of the lives of actors and filmmakers.  It's fascinating to see Julianne Moore's character trying to get a role that was originated by her late mother while her ghost haunts her subconscious, while at the same time Evan Bird, the film's scene-stealer in my eyes, plays a teen heartthrob who is trying to make a sequel to the film that made him famous after getting out of drug rehabilitation.  And then Wasikowska shows up out of the blue to stir up the lives of everyone she meets, including those previously mentioned.

Every character in their own way is a flawed individual, which is what makes them all the more fascinating to watch.  Moore and Bird in particular steal every scene they're in, which is truly a testament to how well written the characters are.  This is the first film I've seen from David Cronenberg's catalog, and I'm glad it was.  This biting Hollywood satire might be flawed, particularly in the structure of the third act and the dragging nature of the film, but at the end of the day it is extremely entertaining and worthy of a watch.  Definitely not a movie that will appeal to everyone, but it's definitely something that will leave some type of impact on you once it ends.