"Crave"'s primary precedent, however, is 1976's "Taxi Driver," especially after Aiden falls for Virginia, an attractive young woman in his apartment building (Emma Lung, an Aussie whose persona here is a mash-up of Aubrey Plaza and Zoey Deschanel). The attraction is mutual at first, but the relationship unfortunately emboldens Aiden to allow himself to not just be more approachable to females but to act upon his destructive and ultimately deadly impulses with less and less remorse. He reaches the breaking point after Virginia dumps him—much like Robert De Niro's cabbie going off the deep end after Cybill Shepherd's campaign volunteer rejects him.
The climax, which takes its sweet time in arriving and features Edward Furlong as Virginia's abusive ex-boyfriend, is more Grand Guignol comedy of errors than expected. But it still isn't pretty.
In his narrative feature debut, director Charles de Lauzirika—a documentarian known for doing extras for special DVD editions of classic films, especially those by Ridley Scott—knows more about setting a palpably uneasy mood than creating a strong narrative drive. As a visual representation of the windmills of Aiden's warped mind, he places numerous pinwheels spinning madly in planters outside of his protagonist's picture window. As Pete would say, it's very cute.
But once we lose any sympathy for Aiden as he grows increasingly out of control, it is harder to care about what will happen next. Is "Crave" an attempt to comment on a society that glorifies violence while producing a generation filled with potential Aidens who disassociate themselves from the rest of the human race? Maybe, but mostly it is about one guy going nuts.
And what does that title mean? It probably doesn't refer to the convenience-store chips that Aiden likes to munch on. But if it means that the movie will leave you wanting something more substantial, then it is highly appropriate.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7vGnqmempWnwW%2BvzqZmq52mnrK4v46cqZqulWJ%2FcX2S