"What have you done?"
"Mr. Cleg... How many shirts are you wearing? One, two, three... Four! Now really, is this absolutely necessary?"
"Oh indeed it is, Madam. Clothes maketh the man; and the less there is of the man, the more the need for the clothes."
"Oh indeed it is, Madam. Clothes maketh the man; and the less there is of the man, the more the need for the clothes."
Spider is a 2002 psychological thriller from David Cronenberg starring Ralph Fiennes, Gabriel Byrne and Miranda Richardson, based on a 1990 book/screenplay by Patrick Mc Grath.
It tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic, the titular Spider (real name Dennis Cleg), who is released from a mental asylum into a halfway house in London. Here he relives his traumatic 1960s childhood as he tries to piece his life back together and come to terms with his madness.
This film provides examples of:
- And That Little Boy Was Me: That we're seeing a Flash Back isn't made apparent until we see Adult Spider repeat and eventually pre-empt Boy Spider's lines.
- And You Were There: Eventually, all the women in Adult Spider's life turn into his mother.
- Caught with Your Pants Down: Subverted. When another resident from the halfway house casually plays with himself, Spider doesn't become uncomfortable or shocked but instead is genuinely amused by it.
- Double Entendre: A staple of Yvonne's highly cultured conversation.
- Downer Ending: Spider is taken back to the asylum after nearly killing his landlady. But he appears to be starting to come to terms with the fact he killed his own mother.
- Evil Matriarch: Terrence claims that the landlady Mrs. Wilkinson is this. In reality, she is brusque and pushy, but she is not as powerful or malicious as Terrence makes her out to be.
- Fan Disservice: Pretty much any scene involving Yvonne. The base
squickyness of the scene under the canal bridge is one notable example. Also, seeing the normally dashing Fiennes as a mumbling madman with scraggly hair and hand-me-down clothes is pretty jarring. - Flash Back: Much of the film is spent on Spider recovering and reliving his childhood memories.
- Foreshadowing: Spider being afraid of the gas towers, staring at the canal under the bridge, and crying in an allotment.
- Funny Schizophrenia/The Mentally Disturbed: Averted; this is a grim and somber portrayal of mental illness.
- Limited Wardrobe: Spider seems to wear his entire wardrobe at all times. Lampshaded in a quip from Terrence:Terrence: Clothes maketh the man; and the less there is of the man, the more the need of the clothes.
- Madonna-Whore Complex: Spider characterizes women as either mother figures or whores enough that a hint of any sexuality turns a woman into Yvonne in his head - even his mother.
- Matricide: Clegg is horrified to discover that he murdered his mother during one of his hallucinations as a kid. It's the reason he's been institutionalized ever since.
- Meaningful Name: Dennis Cleg is nicknamed 'Spider' by his mother because he likes to make webs with string. The movie is the story of his mental web being constructed and simultaneously unraveled.
- Pensieve Flashback: Much of the story is told through Spider's flashbacks where he watches himself as a young boy... even of scenes he couldn't possibly have seen.
- Really Gets Around: Yvonne. Or so Spider thinks; bearing the Unreliable Narrator in mind, we actually know almost nothing about her.
- Rummage Sale Reject: Adult Spider appears to wear his entire wardrobe at the same time: several pairs of trousers, many shirts, and a hulking, great, shabby overcoat.
- Signature Style: The (long) Rorsharch-esque opening titles, crisp cinematography of mundane sets and mentally disturbed protagonists.
- The Stoic: Spider's doctor at the institution remains unemotional and calm at all times, even when one of the inmates is yelling at him and brandishing a shard of glass. He comes across as cold and clinical, but it's understandable that he's gotten used to acting this way to avoid escalating any volatile situations.
- There Are No Therapists: Zigzagged. Dennis has just finished a stay in a mental institution, and he now resides in a halfway house. It's obvious that he is not prepared for this change, and the house provides shelter but no therapy which he clearly requires. However, when he threatens Mrs. Wilkinson, the staff realize their mistake and return him to the institution for further treatment.
- Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: Dennis's issue with his mother and Yvonne.
- Through the Eyes of Madness: The protagonist is schizophrenic.
- Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness: Spider, an institutionalized paranoid schizophrenic, has very poor personal hygiene, particularly noticeable with his right hand's thumb, forefinger, and middle finger being perpetually covered in some yellowish substance. He also constantly wears at least five layers of clothing which he never seems to change.
- The Unintelligible: As well as a bad case of the mumbles, Mr. Cleg writes constant gibberish in his journal.
- Unreliable Narrator: The story is filmed from the perspective of a paranoid schizophrenic.
- Windmill Crusader: The title character.