Spider

Gripping and well-directed psychodrama tells the story of Spider, a paranoid-schizophrenic, as he tries to resolve his convoluted memories and emotions. After being released from a mental hospital, Spider (Ralph Fiennes) lives in an eerie halfway house for mental patients. There he recounts the events of his life that led to his tortured state of mind. Yet, since the film is told entirely from Spider's perspective it's impossible to distinguish between reality and the blurred fiction of a madman, making the entire film both illusionary and fascinatingly real. Stellar performances from Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, and Bradley Hall in an amazing turn as the young Spider. Cronenberg's most polished drama to date shows that he's successfully outgrown the moniker of Canada's "baron of blood."