Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.
Cronenberg's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is elevated primarily by Christopher Walken's haunting, deeply empathetic performance as Johnny Smith — one of the finest in either man's career. The plot is solid if episodic, faithfully translating King's structure but occasionally feeling disjointed as it moves between the serial killer subplot and the political climax. Cinematography is competent and atmospheric in Cronenberg's characteristically clinical style, though not as visually distinctive as his more personal works. The film occupies familiar psychic-thriller territory but Walken's singular presence and Cronenberg's restrained, melancholic tone give it a distinctive flavor. The ending is genuinely powerful — a morally complex, sacrificial conclusion that lands with real weight and elevates the entire film.