Naked Lunch: A Review

NAKED LUNCH

Ah, William S. Burroughs, as whacked out a figure of American letters as one is likely to find. Naked Lunch was the novel that was unfilmable. Director David Cronenberg got around that by filming not the novel itself verbatim but by using the novel as a jumping off point to delve into this strange world of talking typewriters and getting high off alien juice. Naked Lunch is pretty bonkers, but it still fascinates anyone willing to go into it.  

1935, New York City. Exterminator Will Lee (Peter Weller) has become hooked on the bug spray as has his wife Joan (Judy Davis). Will says that he is no longer on the insecticide but will not go back to writing. Brought in for questioning over missing insecticide, Will finds to his horror that a giant bug has emerged from the massive amounts of insecticide placed before him. The bug informs him that Joan is an agent for Interzone Incorporated who must be killed. Will ends up killing Joan, albeit accidentally when they attempt to recreate William Tell and he shoots her.

Now, Will flees to the Interzone, a vaguely Arab world where he types out his reports on a Clark Nova, which transforms into a giant insect. The typewriter tells him to find Joan Frost (Davis in a dual role) as part of his search for the mysterious Dr. Benway (Roy Schieder), who has a powerful narcotic called "black meat". Will gains entry into the Frost's salons, where he meets both Joan and her husband Tom (Ian Holm), a fellow writer who can communicate with Will telepathically. Each of their typewriters has transformative to erotic abilities, and Tom urges Will to swap them.

It is not long before Will and Joan begin their affair, but the sexual escapades go beyond them. Will is open to a liaison with Yves Cloquet (Julian Sands) and has one with pretty boy Kiki (Joseph Scorsiani). Visits from his fellow writers and friends are a brief respite from the machinations of Will's alien minders, who now push to find the mysterious Benway. Some more twists and turns until Benway's identity is revealed, but will Bill and Joan manage to get to the nearby nation of Annexia alive?

The word surreal is often applied to Naked Lunch, and it does seem like a good description for the film. You have Mugwumps, alien creatures who pop up at bars and even one of Will's typewriters. Tom talks to Will out of sync, demonstrating his telepathic manner. Yves devours Kiki, and I will leave that to you whether that is euphemism or literal. Dr. Benway's reveal is pretty wild. It is a credit to Cronenberg, who adapted the Burroughs novel as well as directed the film, that Naked Lunch does not look like some crazed fever dream.

I think that is because, as Will is openly a drug addict, one can figure that what he sees is part of his drug-induced hallucinations. We cannot trust that what he and by extension we see is true. As such, Naked Lunch has a certain freedom to not be logical. It can be as bizarre as it wants to be, because it is never meant to be real. 

Major credit should go to the cast, which keeps to the eccentric nature of the film. Weller is perfectly strait-laced and droll as William Lee, a man who reacts mostly calm to seeing his typewriter talk to him. He is not unemotional, for he does become startled at times when seeing these bizarre images. However, Weller plays Will as someone who takes things in as they come. Davis has a dual role as both Joans, and she does well in distinguishing the two. While their roles are all smaller, Holm, Sands and Scorsiani leave an impression when working with Weller or each other.

Naked Lunch also benefits from strong production design and a jazz-tinted score by Howard Shore and Ornette Coleman. 

Naked Lunch is a little under two hours, but it does feel longer. It also is at times a bit too bizarre for my tastes. If one sees Naked Lunch, one should be aware that it is not something to take literally. Eccentric and strange, Naked Lunch works in creating this odd universe. 

DECISION: B-