Review- Naked Lunch (1991)

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Written by: David Cronenberg

Starring: Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm

Naked Lunch is a grotesque film for the weird and freaky. That's a good thing. It's full of wonderful creature effects and bloody insect body parts. The best part is that, despite being based on a novel, it's original. For novels many consider unfilmable, it takes a genius director like David Cronenberg to come in and find a way.

What makes this an original adaptation is that it isn't a direct adaptation of William S. Boroughs' famous novel Naked Lunch, but a hybrid of the stories in it while also being inspired by events in Borough's own life. It's, in a sense, a biographical film with chunks of surreal adventure mixed into it. It offers a unique experience. There is a negative side effect, though. I think that if you didn't come in knowing that information first, you'd have no idea what this movie was about. Unlike some surreal films, like Eraserhead, you can't exactly take what's in front of you and then try to interpret it without researching it first. But it's an artistic vision, it's personal to Cronenberg, and that's what art is all about.

There is also another negative side effect to this adaptation, and it's a big one. I wouldn't call this movie homophobic, I wouldn't call David Cronenberg homophobic, and I don't know what the hell Boroughs is considering he was homosexual but then said Naked Lunch 'cured' him from his homosexuality,  but this movie could come off that way to people. Cronenberg's goal was to use the novel in a way that could be combined with Borough's life. Borough wrote about homosexuality along with such subjects as drug addiction and violence. So, combine that with the fact that he felt that he had cured his homosexuality with the book? It makes the theme of the movie feel like it's about trying to get rid of the addiction of being gay. I don't think the movie does much to help make homosexuality look good, but I do not believe it's anti-gay.

But the creature effects are brilliant. Beetle typewriters with anus mouths? Alien things with phallic head ornaments that leak innuendo ooze? They're effective and just fun to watch on screen. It's classic Cronenberg. Music, however, was a bit irritating. The free form jazz went on too long in some places and was just more distracting and headache-inducing than fitting for what was going on in the movie.

The movie has a lot of genius moments and I'd recommend it. I have a feeling many will misunderstand it, though, and so I don't think it's for everybody. I think this movie is for Cronenberg, Boroughs, and film fans only.

6.5/10