‘Crimes of the Future’: Commentary’s sharp and so are the scalpels in the year’s freakiest film

In the performances of Saul (Viggo Mortensen) and Caprice (Léa Seydoux), she slices him open and removes his unwanted organs in “Crimes of the Future.” (Neon)

You might have heard about the polarizing audience reaction at the Cannes Film Festival to David Cronenberg’s spectacularly gruesome and deeply disturbing noir body horror film “Crimes of the Future,” with Variety reporting some viewers walked out while those who stayed to the end voiced their approval with a seven-minute standing ovation.

First, I love those reports from Cannes about lengthy standing ovations, from the 11-minute Standing O for “Inglorious Basterds” in 2009 to the 17-minute applause marathon for “The Neon Demon” in 2016 to the 22-minute standing ovation for Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” in 2006. Twenty-two minutes! Amazing. If you stood up right now and gave a 22-minute standing ovation, you’d be exhausted (and people would be looking at you). I think my all-time record for a standing ovation is eight minutes, when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005.