Review Roundup: 'Sleepwalk With Me' and 'Cosmopolis'

Here is a new Review Roundup in which I offer very brief thoughts on two movies I saw recently that have really stuck with me: Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me and David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis. I unreservedly love one, while the jury is still out on the other.

Sleepwalk With Me

Dir: Mike Birbiglia

Before Sleepwalk With Me, Mike Birbiglia was a stand-up comedian who had only acted in bit parts and had no experience behind the camera. As such, giving him complete control over his first film seems like a recipe for disaster. Even veteran filmmakers are frightened by the prospect of writing, directing and starring in a single movie, yet Birbiglia was intent on tackling it all head-on. That Sleepwalk With Me succeeds at all is impressive; that it is this funny, insightful and moving is a downright miracle. This isn’t just another fun indie comedy. Sleepwalk With Me feels like it could be the start of a very special career.

Birbiglia is Matt Pandamiglio, a wannabe comic who currently bartends in between lackluster five-minute sets. He lives with his long-time girlfriend Abby (Lauren Ambrose), and every day must contend with the fact that she is starting to pull away. His family—including parents Carol Kane and James Rebhorn—are growing impatient with his lack of success and lack of wedding ring, yet the only thing he really cares about is becoming a better comedian. On top of all this, he suddenly learns that he has a rare and dangerous sleep disorder that causes him to act out his dreams. This winds up putting him in a few perilous situations.

What’s so striking about Sleepwalk With Me is that Birbiglia is able to establish a unique and interesting comedic voice from the outset. This isn’t—and isn’t meant to be—a striking piece of visual filmmaking, but this is a movie that could only have been made by Birbiglia. Even though this is his first venture into filmmaking, his authorship is all over it. It’s a bumpy ride in many ways, and some of the revelations/transitions come a little too easy, but much like his character in the film Birbiglia is still figuring all this out. As we watch Matt learn how to be a better comedian and person, we are also watching Birbiglia learn how to be a filmmaker. By the end, he’s pretty darn terrific at it.

Grade: A-

Cosmopolis

Dir: David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis is either an act of brilliant lunacy or just plain old lunacy, and even four days after seeing it I’m still not sure which. I do know that it features a great, icy performance by Robert Pattinson at its center. I do know that there are some terrific moments, particularly when the film is at its most insane. I just bring myself to decide whether or not it adds up to a coherent whole that can be taken seriously. Even its most ardent supporters will not deny that Cosmopolis is a ridiculous movie, and it’s up to each viewer to decide whether or not this is a virtue or vice.

Pattinson is Eric Packer, a young New York City billionaire who one afternoon decides to ride across town to get a haircut. The problem is that traffic is particularly bad in the city today, and there are a few reasons for this: the President in town, a protest downtown has turned violent, and there’s a funeral procession for a famous musician. As his limousine moves slowly through traffic, he also orders a select few pit stops in order to meet with his new wife, get a daily medical check-up, and have sex with random women who are not his wife. Things take a turn once it becomes clear that Eric has a certain appetite for self-destruction and violence, an impulse he acts on in some shocking ways.

Pattinson has often been criticized for his lack of emotion onscreen, but even if that is the case he uses this to fine affect here. Eric Packer is meant to be detached from all reality—much of the film takes place in his impenetrable, soundproof limo—and Pattinson completely understands the movie that he’s in. He is a robot from the one percent, and he gets a perverse thrill from engineering his own downfall. Cosmopolis is an episodic work, and as such the whole may inevitably fall short when compared to the sum of its parts.  This is a film bound to stick with me for the rest of the year, but it may be a long time before I decide just how artistically successful it is. It’s an impactful, strange and unique film, but the jury’s still out on whether it’s a great one.

Grade: B