This film will be available in subscription on 1 March
Spider
David Cronenberg directs Ralph Fiennes in this chilling psychological drama about a mentally-disturbed man facing his horrifying childhood memories.
Director: David Cronenberg
Overview
Perhaps David Cronenberg’s most psychological film to date, Spider is a profound human drama that weaves together a web of memory, isolation, and secrets. Ralph Fiennes stars as Spider, a mentally-disturbed man who takes residence in a halfway-house. While there, he plumbs the depths of his psyche to remember why he has ended up as the fractured man he is. Figures of his past are played with both enigma and sharpness by Miranda Richardson and Gabriel Byrne as Cronenberg crafts a discomforting, atmospheric, and rewarding viewing experience.
Playing in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Spider is seen as one of Cronenberg’s most profound films due to its intense focus on character, mood, and setting (Spider’s childhood home is particularly jarring). Add to that a transfixing supporting performance from Richardson, and Spider is one of the filmmaker’s films with the most lasting aftertaste.
Contains disturbing behaviour and infrequent strong language
Related
Downfall Downfall
Historical drama 2004 155 mins Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Bruno Ganz is extraordinary as Adolf Hitler, living out his final days during the fall of Berlin in Oliver Hirschbiegel's acclaimed drama.
Palindromes Palindromes
Comedy 2004 100 mins Director: Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz’s casting of eight different actors of varying ages, genders and races to play the lead role of Aviva, makes for a truly original film.
Distant Journey Distant Journey
Drama 1949 98 mins Director: Alfréd Radok
Blending documentary and fiction, Alfréd Radok's remarkable film chronicling the Terezin ghetto was one of the first films to address the Holocaust.
Dreamers Dreamers
Drama 2025 79 mins Director: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Two Nigerian migrants dare to imagine a vibrant future outside of their confinement at a British immigration removal centre.
Amélie Amélie
Drama 2001 117 mins Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Audrey Tautou plays the shy waitress whose altruism leads to love, in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's BAFTA-winning hit romance.
Viridiana Viridiana
Drama 1961 91 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Banned in Spain, condemned by the Vatican and celebrated at Cannes, Buñuel’s satire about an aspiring nun takes a stinging crack at society.
Akenfield Akenfield
Drama 1975 98 mins Director: Peter Hall
Peter Hall’s extraordinary, long-unseen work of sublime poetic realism traces three generations of one Suffolk family and their lives in the farming industry.
Orlando Orlando
Fantasy 1993 93 mins Director: Sally Potter
Tilda Swinton stars in Sally Potter's dazzling interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.
Dune Dune
Science Fiction 1984 131 mins Director: David Lynch
David Lynch brings Frank Herbert’s powerful novel and rich fantasy world to life in this cinematic spectacle.
The L-shaped Room The L-shaped Room
Drama 1962 126 mins Director: Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes directs the Oscar-nominated story of a French woman (Leslie Caron) moving to London while unmarried, pregnant, and alone.
Drive My Car Drive My Car
Drama 2021 179 mins Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryūsuke Hamaguchi takes us on an unpredictable and self-revelatory journey in this serene yet riveting Oscar-winning drama.
The Return The Return
Drama 2024 116 mins Director: Uberto Pasolini
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are superb in this moody and poignant adaptation of the final sections of Homer's Odyssey.
Crash Crash
Drama 1996 100 mins Director: David Cronenberg
Technology and sexuality meet in head-on collision in David Cronenberg’s controversial adaptation of writer J.G. Ballard’s transgressive 1973 novel.
The Rules of Attraction The Rules of Attraction
Comedy 2002 111 mins Director: Roger Avary
Exuberant adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, about a group of beautiful, wealthy and self-absorbed students tearing it up at college.
Downfall Downfall
Historical drama 2004 155 mins Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Bruno Ganz is extraordinary as Adolf Hitler, living out his final days during the fall of Berlin in Oliver Hirschbiegel's acclaimed drama.
Palindromes Palindromes
Comedy 2004 100 mins Director: Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz’s casting of eight different actors of varying ages, genders and races to play the lead role of Aviva, makes for a truly original film.
Distant Journey Distant Journey
Drama 1949 98 mins Director: Alfréd Radok
Blending documentary and fiction, Alfréd Radok's remarkable film chronicling the Terezin ghetto was one of the first films to address the Holocaust.
Dreamers Dreamers
Drama 2025 79 mins Director: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Two Nigerian migrants dare to imagine a vibrant future outside of their confinement at a British immigration removal centre.
Amélie Amélie
Drama 2001 117 mins Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Audrey Tautou plays the shy waitress whose altruism leads to love, in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's BAFTA-winning hit romance.