“You can make as many movies and write as many novels as you want, but you are still suffering.” After the loss of his wife of 43 years, Carolyn, in 2017, David Cronenberg had these painful words to say following a post-screening Q&A of The Shrouds earlier this month. While Cronenberg was never afraid to interject his own beliefs on reality into his films, he has never made something as emotionally potent as The Shrouds.
The film stars Vincent Cassel as technology and graveyard entrepreneur Karsh, who's grappling with the tragic loss of his wife Becca (Diane Kruger) and has been suffering in the four years following her death. From that loss, he develops a burial shroud that provides grieving loved ones with an intimate view of the decomposition and decay. He has extrapolated his grief into a business venture as a means to grow closer to his deceased wife.
Cronenberg asks how effectively humans are at processing grief as an emotion. Grief is an altering and, at times, debilitating emotion. The very fabric of who we are, or once were, diminishes in lieu of something entirely new. However, ‘new' is difficult – how do we discover the ‘new' when we're not sure what that will look like? Those unable to take that step can remain in a state of arrested development and emotional regression. Cronenberg's characters seem unable to make that transition, with sister-in-law Terry (Diane Kruger) falling deeper into nonsensical conspiracies. Another character overhauls their aesthetic to be in line with Japanese culture. We all have to rebuild in some way, and who we were just won't cut it anymore. Cronenberg displays a sense of understanding by displaying the vulnerability and honesty with how each character is grapples with their own sense of loss.
As a filmmaker, Cronenberg has experimented with the idea of transforming the human body into something else — whether that be with inter-species fusion or the blending of violence and sex. Yet his examination of this potent emotion shows how it can be just as transformative, with The Shrouds exploring the various stages of grief and our ways of processing it. While Cronenberg has always developed his style and cinematic scope, the movies following the death of his wife have examined ideas of shedding the past and embracing a new future. Here the director, now in his twilight years after a multi-decade spanning career, looks at the ethical parameters at play with the advancement in technology that allows someone a constant view of their deceased love one. Is it emotionally manipulative for a man to sell a product designed to keep someone in their grief? These questions aren't answered easily but Cronenberg's ability to boldly force the viewer to examine themselves is a feat that few filmmakers accomplish nowadays. Alongside Crimes of the Future cinematographer Douglas Koch, the director frames the characters in a wistful and open-ended style. Shots are filled with dead air, emphasising the emptiness surrounding each one. The effect is haunting, disturbing, and unnerving but, at its core, immensely beautiful and heartbreaking.
One our loved ones are gone, all that remains are our memories. Rewriting and reexamining what was and what could have been. While there isn't a right way to navigate grief, Karsh is incapable of accepting the reality and assigns meaning that may or may not be true. In his final moments, even in his plight to overcome, Karsh is haunted by the memories of whom he loved. Sincere in its depiction, without providing any easy answers, The Shrouds is a slow, difficult journey through the mind of a heart broken man. A must-see film.
The Shrouds is currently at NYFF 2024 .
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