Cosmos is the final film from Polish director Andrzej Żuławski, who died just after its premiere. This surreal metaphysical thriller is based on the novel Kosmos by Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz. It follows the character Witold and his friend Fuchs, finding themselves in a state of unemployment and failure, travelling to a secluded country guest house so that Witold can study up in an attempt to pass at least one exam.

A series of omens and volatile interactions with the family at the guest house immediately send the pair off course.

Jonathan Genet as Witold: tall and skeletal, passionately channels Richard E Grant’s Withnail. Wide-eyed monologues spat at his sidekick. Fans of Withnail & I should not pass this one up. However, as with that British cult classic, Cosmos will not be to everyone’s taste. The cinematic territory Cosmos inhabits ranges from Withnail & I to the work of Pedro Almodóvar. Initially the characters look as though they would be at home in an Almodóvar feature, aided by the bad soap opera atmosphere he often creates (see Dark Habits; I’m So Excited). Cosmos could almost be held in good company with recent oddball successes Frank and The Lobster, marrying dark humour with the surreal, but it struggles to meet their standard.

Through Cosmos Andrzej Żuławski, known for horror films, displayed his ability to leave the audience unsettled. This is achieved in chaotic scenes brimming with symbolism crossed with an incongruous soundtrack – music featuring inconsistently and often in opposition to the apparent mood of the scene. Disorder and paranoia are complemented by farce: Sabine Azéma (Private Fears in Public Places) is a treat, injecting necessary comedy into proceedings. However, this is not enough. Comic turns raise a smile, not a laugh, and though unsettling, there is little really sinister about the omens dotted throughout. Some scenes are so packed with symbolism, in both the set and the action that it suggests a second viewing would be more enjoyable than the first. I’ll give this one a couple of years before returning to it, though I will definitely seek out the book.

Żuławski had the opportunity to pull Cosmos further in two directions: comedy and horror, each reinforcing the other. The middle ground is an unfortunate place for this film to fall.

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