eXistenZ
("Are we still in the game?")

What is this movie about? Reality, Games, Movies, and Sex.

Sex: The sexual tone is set early on, when they're driving away from the church and Allegra tells Ted to pull over "so we can have an intimate moment together," meaning he's going to dig the bullet out of her shoulder. In other words, orifices are going to be invaded, but not the ones we might expect.

There are too many sexual double entendres to list here, unless I just include a copy of the script (or at least every exchange between Allegra and Ted). However, here are some of my favorites:

Allegra: "You've never played any game."

Ted: "I have this phobia about having my body penetrated. Surgically."

Gas: "The one thing you don't want to do is miss with the stud finder."

Allegra: "New ports are sometimes a little tight. Wouldn't want to hurt you."

Ted: "Don't you think you could call me Ted?" Allegra: "Maybe afterwards."

And, of course, the moment when Ted tongues Allegra's bioport, and then protests that it was his game character who did it, not he. Also, I will allow arguments that Allegra's initial question about why Ted isn't carrying a weapon, though seemingly straightforward at the time, could carry another meaning when viewed in the context of what comes later.

The bioport is itself, of course, obviously sexual (Gas draws the parallel to the anus, in case you missed it somehow), as is the problem with playing eXistenZ by yourself ("it's frustrating") and the fact that Allegra calls the game pod her "baby," but those are so obvious as not to require any deeper (so to speak) analysis here.

The most amusing thing about the movie in this area, though, is how completely it reverses traditional Hollywood gender roles. The last movie to do this so thoroughly was Contact, but that was mostly not played for laughs.

Allegra acts, and Ted reacts. Allegra creates and Ted vacillates. Allegra forges ahead and Ted follows reluctantly. Allegra seduces and Ted expresses doubts and anxiety. He shows ignorance and she supplies facts and opinions. He starts to panic and she reassures him, "Don't sweat it, I'm going to handle it." Women in movies sometimes take the lead in romance, but seldom to this extent in other aspects of life.


What is this movie about? Reality, Games, Movies, and Sex.


Return to the eXistenZ Review

Credits

Official eXistenZ Web Page


Credits

Written and Directed by David Cronenberg

Allegra Gellar : Jennifer Jason Leigh

Ted Pikul : Jude Law

Kiri Vinokur : Ian Holm

Gas : Willem Dafoe

Yevgeny Nourish : Don McKellar

Hugo Carlaw : Callum Keith Rennie

D'Arcy Nader : Robert A. Silverman

Seminar Leader : Christopher Eccleston

Chinese Waiter : Oscar Hsu

Merle : Sarah Polley

Noel Dichter : Kris Lemche