‘I’m an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over…’
I’ve been circling David Cronenberg’s remake of The Fly for a long time now. Over the years, it’s become a kind of cinematic white whale for me. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to watch it, and now, we’re finally here. Be afraid. Be very afraid…
Mad scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) meets science journalist Ronnie Quaife (Geena Davis) at a party one night. They hit it off, and she goes back to his place (I mean, she’s not made of wood, look at the guy!). His place turns out to be a laboratory where he is working on a teleportation machine. After getting drunk one night, Brundle experiments with his invention with disastrous consequences.
Sometimes all the elements of a film come together so perfectly that it almost feels like divine intervention. It is impossible to imagine anyone other than Goldblum and Davis in the lead roles. They both should have been Oscar-nominated. Even John Getz, as that one douchebag character that shows up in all ’80s movies, is great. Cronenberg directs the shit out of the thing; this is undoubtedly his best film. Howard Shore’s hysterical score is an all-timer. Chris Walas’ make-up and effects work is perhaps the pinnacle of the discipline. The Fly is, for all intents and purposes, a perfect movie (I don’t give out more than a 9/10 on a first viewing for any film but this one could well join the hallowed 10/10 club on repeated viewings).
I loved everything about this movie. I loved how expertly Cronenberg (working from his own screenplay co-written with Charles Edward Pogue) balances romance, humour and gross-out body horror. I loved Goldblum’s bug-eyed, frantic performance. I loved how economical the storytelling is. Yes, Seth has access to various baboons. No, it doesn’t need to be explained. The ending is great. And, now I’m running out of ways to say how much I loved this movie, but rest assured… I LOVED this picture.
The Fly is the apex of body horror. It’s Cronenberg’s best film, it’s Goldblum’s best performance, and as Jamie Lee Curtis once opined, it’s one of the most heartbreaking horror films ever made. Put simply, it’s a masterpiece.
