Webs of Wonder

Spider

Director: David Cronenberg

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Bradley Hall, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville

Cert: PG15

A towering and beautifully made drama set against the subject of mental illness.

Director Cronenberg brings us a film, based on the Patrick McGrath novel, of the deeply disturbed middle-aged man (Fiennes) known as the Spider of the title.

Released from a long-term institute, he returns to his old London haunts (around King's Cross) in search of a meaning to his troubled life … and he spirals back into trauma as he tries to work out if his father (Byrne) murdered his mother (Richardson).

It is not a light film, but it is a quite brilliantly observed one, with excellent performances (even allowing for Fiennes's slightly mannered mumbling delivery).

Any exploration of such a complex subject brings a range of problems, but this is a powerful and moving film.

Star Rating: 4/5