Spider **** (2002, Ralph Fiennes, Lynn Redgrave, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, John Neville) – Classic Movie Review 1747

Ralph Fiennes is brilliant as the mentally ill Dennis Clegg, nicknamed ‘Spider’ by his mother (Miranda Richardson). Now in his thirties, he is released after 20 years in a clinic to Lynn Redgrave’s depressingly seedy London boarding house, a halfway house for the mentally ill.

There he completely loses his hold on reality as he is drawn back to his childhood and traces the path that led to his schizophrenia.

Director David Cronenberg’s moody, disturbing 2002 film spins a delicate and involving yarn, and is a perfectly realized illustration of the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic, though it’s a real downer.

Patrick McGrath fashions a strong screenplay from his own novel. It proves idea material for Cronenberg. Gabriel Byrne as Bill Clegg and John Neville as Terrence also star.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1747

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