Plot
After becoming infected with the virus that killed superstar Hannah Geist, Syd March must unravel the mystery surrounding her death to save his own life.
Release Year: 2012
Rating: 5.6/10 (1,925 voted)
Director:Brandon Cronenberg
Storyline
Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion - for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.
Trivia:
All of the close-up shots of needles entering skin in the film are real. See more »
User Review
How far would you go to own a piece of your celebrity crush?
Rating: 8/10
Brandon Cronenberg's auspicious debut feature is a visually stunning,
compelling science fiction story that asks the question, "How far would
you go to own a piece of your celebrity crush?" Directing from his own
script, the young Canadian takes a decidedly cynical view of the cult
of personality in this sci-fi paradigm shift -- "Antiviral" isn't
necessarily showing us what will be in the future but what could be now
as it appears to be set more in the present day.
The film opens in a pristine medical facility where a desperate young
man, Edward Porris (Douglas Smith in a too-brief but important
establishing role), is about to be injected with a live virus taken
from his favorite superstar. Being bedridden with the same illness
infecting the woman of his desire is the ultimate autograph. The shot
is administered by Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones), a strictly
professional, unemotional clinician who knows not to take his job home
with him. Of course, everything is not as it seems and March becomes
embroiled in a mystery that pulls in the viewer like a syringe drawing
blood.
The cast is focused on a small handful of characters. 22-year-old Caleb
Landry Jones (Sean Cassidy/Banshee of "X-Men: First Class") is in
virtually every shot, undergoing a total physical and emotional
transformation that's almost painful to watch, reminiscent of the
award-winning performance turned in by Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia." His
masterful characterization of Syd's downward spiral is breathtaking and
central to the picture's potency. The iconic Malcolm McDowell is
satisfyingly engaging as Dr. Abendroth, in a role that stands proudly
with anything he's done. As Hannah Geist, the gorgeous object of men's
desires, Sarah Gadon is a heartbreaker. Naive diva one minute,
vulnerable victim the next, Gadon provides much of the heart and soul
of "Antiviral" in a film otherwise devoid of color, literally. Joe
Pingue and Nicholas Campbell are notable in support.
"Antiviral's" narrative is curiously fascinating, to be sure, but this
is a film to examine more on the surface the way an old-fashioned
family doctor can tell what ails you by looking at your skin. The
highly stylized production is best appreciated by those enriched by a
leisurely walk through an art museum. Every frame is like a painting,
with lush cinematography and score that can only be effective when
director, DP, composer, editor, and the entire visual team work in
lockstep, resulting in a brilliant vision executed with highly
disciplined precision.
Much of March's day is set in the clinic and his home, which mirrors
his workplace in its cold sterility. The color palette is nothing but
black and white. Lighting is oversaturated with characters bathed in
bright white, giving the outward appearance of good health that belies
the reality of what literally lurks beneath the skin. The outside world
is like a parallel universe, where dirt and grime cover a worn out,
used landscape as if diseased itself.
Cinematographer Karim Hussain ("Hobo with a Shotgun," one of my 2011
Sundance Film Festival Top 4) goes against the hand-held trend with
stationary camera throughout much of the movie. These tripod shots
often feature perfectly centered props and sets following the rule of
3s -- left, center, and right objects perfectly balanced with the
action in the middle of the field of view. Many frame-within-a-frame
shots continue this classic visual style as the viewer peers through
doors and windows, with straight lines and rectangular shapes filling
the screen. It's a refreshing break with tradition although,
ironically, it's a look established long ago in sci-fi classics like
Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." Much is owed to editor Matthew Hannam for
the patient pace of the picture. E.C. Woodley's haunting electronica
score is filled with biologically-inspired rhythms that reflect the
throbbing hearts and mechanical drone of a scientific setting.
Viewers are cautioned not to underestimate the profound importance of
the camera-work and visual effects. The look of "Antiviral" is as much,
or more, responsible for the film's impact than the script, a notion
which may be lost on those simply trying to figure out the plot and
following the dialogue. This is a feast for the eyes and ears, not just
the mind.
Brandon Cronenberg proves himself a welcome and worthy addition to the
cinematic stage with "Antiviral," a delicious visual showcase and
emotionally satisfying, albeit scathing look at one of the perils of
modern society.
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