Bloody (and) Brilliant

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2010)

The Fly marks the central point of David Cronenberg's distinguished directorial career so far. He would achieve a certain tabloid notoriety a decade later with the laughable Crash, but this story of loner scientist Seth Brundle's (Jeff Goldblum) fusion with a house fly strikes the perfect balance between Cronenberg's ongoing exploration of squishy body parts and mainstream cinema's demands for high concept genre conventions.
It would first appear that the genre in question is horror. Indeed, many of the final scenes, including the gooey Grand Guignol ending, are straight from the splatter canon. There is method to this madness: Seth is dying - literally falling apart; and the insect in him - brutal, totally without compassion or table manners - is taking over. Off go his ears and out fall his teeth. And yet Brundlefly's heart remains untouched - except, that is, by his writer girlfriend, Ronnie (Geena Davis). Here amongst Chris Walas's fantastic make-up is an old-fashioned Hollywood love story. Perhaps that's why audiences have found The Fly the most accessible of his films: because, whether through straightforward exposition or blood-soaked metaphor, an affecting story of love and jealousy shines through. By the end, you won't be certain you've watched a horror film at all. You may also be convinced that life is a 75-year process of decay, but that's Cronenberg's trick: deep meanings in simple, stark images.