10 Unfilmable Properties That Should've Stayed That Way

7. Cosmopolis

David Cronenberg's movies reflect the director's preoccupation with degradation, be it personal or societal, biological or mechanical. His films show us the seeping cesspit of humanity at its most base and destructive, vying for control, domination and, frequently, perversion. As a choice of director for the adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel Cosmopolis, Cronenberg is certainly apt - here, he takes nothing less than the collapse of the global financial system as his topic, condensed into the microcosm of Eric Packer (Robert Pattison, proving himself to be an accomplished actor once away from the Twilight franchise), a billionaire who loses his fortune over the course of a day's travelling around in his limousine. While not a terrible film in its own right, Cosmopolis suffers from a confused approach to the literary aspects of its source material - the ideas and themes seem to get lost in the stagey, episodic structure, leading the audience to feel somewhat detached from ideas which feel as if the director is struggling to articulate them. A noble failure, but perhaps one which should have been avoided.