Best movie ever!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

A good example of how a great actor can excel in a bad movie. Something this boring I haven't watch in a long time. I barely made it to the end.Ralph Fiennes - 9/10"Spider" - 2/10

First of all, in order to fully appreciate Spider it requires more than a single viewing - at least 2 are necessary. Secondly,if you grew up in England, especially London, that would have helped, as many of the idioms spoken in this film, eg 'wicking' (as used by Yvonne Wilkinson - meaning 'annoying') were very much around in 1950s London. There are some other parochial phrases used which would be lost on most Americans. Curiously, looking at the subtitles for Spider a lot of the phrases have been wrongly interpreted, (probably compiled by Americans).Anyway, the first time I saw this, I didn't really get it either. At the same time I felt I hadn't given this film a proper chance, and when I did decide to revisit it I realized what a subtle, if strange and depressing movie it was. I've watched this several times since and on each occasion it became more fascinating, gradually dawning on me how much I'd missed in some of the more suggestive and important scenes. Eg, how many viewing this for the first time recognized that the actress playing Yvonne Wilkinson flashing her breast at young Spider, was not Miranda Richardson, who played Yvonne in all the subsequent scenes. There was a good reason for that of course. Also I realized why the imposing gasometer structure seen by Spider from his bedroom window seemed to terrify him. There are plenty of other examples. Once you notice what you missed first time around and more, you can appreciate this film so much better.But most viewers do not have the time or patience these days to allow a 'slow' film like Spider to develop, so naturally Spider will never see the light of day again for those with a short attention span. That's their loss though. You can make films about mental illness in a more entertaining way - eg. A Beautiful Mind. But in the end Spider digs that much deeper. Full credit to David Cronenberg for having the balls to make such an unconventional film, yet brilliant study of the schizophrenic mind. And needless to say Ralph Fiennes performance as the confused, mumbling Spider is extraordinary.

The titular Spider is Ralph Fiennes who has just been discharged from the mental institute. He takes residence in a home which houses other people from the hospital who have been let out. While he is there, he recreates his childhood and observes how his father behaved with his mom. This must have been a very difficult movie to make. The lead actor practically does not speak for any substantial length and has few dialogues. Hence it would have been a very tough challenge for the director to keep the viewers interested. I am very glad that the David Cronenberg bested the challenge and made this into a very gripping piece of cinema. Fiennes is off the charts brilliant. His brooding intensity and the way he mumbles really has to be seen to be believed. This is his best performance after Schindler's List in my opinion and my respect for him as an actor has increased tremendously. The direction is superb. The way the past and the present blend together gives new meaning to the word smooth. Loved it totally. 3.5 out of 5. Must watch for fans of gripping drama and great acting

Internal madness is hypnotically externalized in David Cronenberg's Spider, a disturbing portrait of schizophrenia that was adapted by Patrick McGrath from his celebrated novel.This drama stars Ralph Fiennes,Miranda Richardson and Gabriel Byrne.The film is a story of Dennis Cleg, a man who is given a room in a halfway house catering to mentally disturbed persons. Cleg has just been released from a mental institution and in his new abode starts piecing together or recreating in his memory an apparently fateful childhood event. He roams the nearby derelict urban area and the local canal and starts to relive or visualize a period of his childhood in 1950s London with his mother and his father. A shift takes place in the child's psyche when he witnesses his mother groping with his father in the garden and, subsequently, when he sees his mother in a silky night gown she wore for his father. The son, as a grown man seems to recreate in his memory the build up to his father's murder of his mother with the passive support of his mistress who then moves into the house and is presented as his mother. The young son then kills the mistress by gassing her in the kitchen. After that memory he attempts late one night to kill the landlady who sees alternatively as the mistress and his mother, he is taken back to the asylum.Cronenberg pieces together a compelling portrait of madness, but one which lacks the poignancy to be a rich, moving character study.Aside from that,it fails to connect with its audience and concludes in a contradictory and jumbled fashion.But despite of its flaws,this is one of the director's most accomplished films as it remains a pleasure to watch in such an understated treatment of potentially sensational subject matter.Also,Ralph Fiennes provides a brilliant and startling performance as a mentally ill person.