Eastern Promises REVIEW(no spoilers)

Today I was fortunate enough to check out David Cronenberg's new film, Eastern Promises. The film stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. I don't really feel like giving the typical plot summary/thematic rundown, you can just click HERE for that.

Eastern Promises reminds me a lot of Cronenberg's last film, A History of Violence. The film starts off very mellow but establishes the plot early. Both have twisted plots that are highlighted by extreme violence. I was a bit turned off by the audience I watched the movie with, they found the violence to be humorous. I don't know if it was because the violence isn't believable or if that's the natural reaction to a man getting his figures cut off. Promises tops A History of Violence on the blood meter in my book. Usually you don't see people's throats being cut open-you see that numerous times in Promises. The pinnacle of the violence comes when Mortensen fights off two hitmen, naked in a shower room.

Another aspect of Eastern Promises congruent to Cronenberg's past films is the ambiguity that he leaves the audience with. Both with "a histoy of violence" and "eastern promises" I couldn't tell when it was going to end. If you haven't seen either movie, you won't know what I'm talking about, but if you have-you will, HAHA. Basically the first two acts of Cronenberg's movies make sense and then the third act takes you on a wild ride that leaves you with an clear sense of what's actually going on.

All in all I love the movie, it's a shame that more people haven't gone out to see the film. There's so much more I could say about this movie but it would be best expressed in a small discussion group, not an online article. If anyone wants to discuss the film, hit me on the email tgiffilms@gmail.com (im serious, im a nerd)

peace,

iHUSTLE