The Shrouds

by Mike McGranaghan

It’s been 48 hours since I’ve seen The Shrouds and, after much thought, I still don’t think I could explain exactly what happens at the end of it. However, I believe this is writer/director David Cronenberg’s intention. The Canadian filmmaker’s latest was inspired by the grief he experienced after the death of his wife. It follows a man who keeps asking the question, “Why?” yet never gets a complete answer. Although that may frustrate viewers who like a neat, tidy ending, it’s surely Cronenberg’s way of making us feel the same disorientation that inevitably follows a death, the kind that makes you wonder, “Why them? Why now?”

Karsh (Vincent Cassel) is a widowed entrepreneur. His grief has spurred him to create a new kind of cemetery where the tombstones have a screen that allows the bereaved to view the rotting corpses of their loved ones, who are wrapped in a specially designed shroud before the burial. His own wife Becca is in this graveyard. One day, the cemetery is vandalized, with several tombstones – including hers – targeted. Without involving police, Karsh tries to figure out who did it and why.

Getting sucked into his investigation are his late wife’s twin sister Terry (Diane Kruger), her paranoid ex-husband/computer whiz Maury (an excellent Guy Pearce), and foreign businesswoman Soo-Min (Sandrine Holt) who wants to help Karsh expand into other countries.

The Shrouds spins a tantalizing mystery as Karsh searches for answers, only to be confronted with more complications. In a typically wild Cronenbergian twist, Terry gets sexually aroused by conspiracy theories, of which there are many. Karsh often speaks of yearning to hold Becca’s body again, Terry is her identical twin, and you can imagine how weird things get from there. Some of the conspiracies come from Maury. There could be merit to them, or he could simply be muddying the waters. Like the lead character, we try to make sense of it all, only to find our heads spinning. Those seeking a dose of Cronenberg’s trademark body horror will find it in the form of gruesome dreams the widower has about the cancer-ridden Becca.

The movie’s sex and intermittent goriness are enough to keep you hooked for two hours. What makes The Shrouds truly powerful, though, is that it doesn’t provide a clear answer about the vandalism. That allows for a deeper contemplation of the story’s themes. There are lots of people Karsh could blame, including a shady doctor who may not have done enough to treat Becca. None of it really matters because she’s gone and he’s still here, trying to determine how to go on without her. Like the desecration of the graves, it is what it is. No explanation can ever erase the hurt.

Vincent Cassel is remarkable in the leading role, capturing the obsessive personality that drives his character to keep seeking resolution, even when there may be no resolution to be found. The actor gives a smart, probing performance. Kruger and Holt are also very effective, representing two different potential paths for Karsh to take. He could easily make Terry a proxy for Becca. Conversely, Soo-Min appears to be a willing partner, assuming she’s on the up-and-up.

The Shrouds is not about who vandalized the cemetery so much as it is about whether Karsh can cope with it, just as he needs to cope with Becca’s passing. The question requires evolving from “Why?” to “Where do I go from here?” Cronenberg delivers the elements we expect from one of his films, but this time they come wrapped up in an emotional tale that will hit home for anyone who’s ever lost somebody they loved.

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