Maps to the Stars

It seems like David Cronenberg has been thumbing his nose at Hollywood for decades through his provocative body of work, but Maps to the Stars might be his most direct attack yet.

The latest from the venerable Canadian filmmaker is a clinical showbiz satire that pulls no punches in its no-frills approach to a handful of intertwining stories about a fractured family haunted by demons and tragedies.

Among those suffering the most is Havana (Julianne Moore), an actress whose thespian mother died in a fire, and now she’s desperately chasing her Oscar-winning role in a remake as a method of catharsis. As her personal assistant, Havana hires an emotionally unstable burn victim (Mia Wasikowska) with a crush on a limo driver (Robert Pattinson) who works for one of Havana’s rivals.

They eventually intersect with Benjie (Evan Bird), an egomaniacal teenager preparing to star in a sequel to a blockbuster children’s film. His reckless behavior doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on his parents, including his feeble manager (Olivia Williams) and a self-help author (John Cusack) more concerned with public perception than family bonding.

The film’s targets include pampered and entitled child stars, enabling parents, cutthroat meddling by producers and agents, tabloid scandals, name-dropping hangers-on, and Hollywood’s obsession with big-budget franchises.

On the surface, the screenplay by Bruce Wagner is relentlessly cynical and not especially insightful, but it’s more effective in the quieter and intimate moments, when the exaggerations reveal a dark sense of humor layered with sardonic wit.

The film also is bolstered by its intriguing characters and committed performances, especially Moore as a washed-up star trying to cope with her insecurities.

While it struggles to find sympathy in eccentrics who are generally spoiled and off-putting — which is the point, after all — there are some more subtle observations about the lurid and superficial Hollywood culture and its ability to transform people for the worse. Plus, there are some amusing cameos and the second half includes a healthy dose of unsettling Cronenberg weirdness to spice things up.

Although it deals with generic themes, Maps to the Stars feels like a feature-length middle finger to the establishment from someone who’s not bitter yet has enough credibility to make it sting.

Rated R, 111 minutes.