rated r starring jennifer jason leigh , jude law , willem dafoe , ian holm , don mckellar , callum keith rennie , sarah polley , christopher eccleston , willem dafoe written and directed by david cronenberg i find it a bit ironic that while the matrix is racking in huge numbers at the box office , david cronenberg's similar , astonishing existenz can't even crack the top 10 . but even if existenz disappears into obscurity , it is not a film that i will easily forget . to give away too much of existenz' plot would be a sin , but i will provide for you the initial setup . jennifer jason leigh makes her big screen return , after a 2-year hiatus ( does anyone remember a thousand acres ? i didn't think so ) , as allegra geller , who , sometime in the near future , is the world's most distinguished virtual reality game designer . a group of people have been gathered into a room to test her newest adventure , called existenz . the meeting turns into chaos , and allegra is forced to flee with her bodyguard ( jude law ) . the game of existenz is not the normal virtual reality game that you would find in stores today . in existenz , you are living the game , and at times your mind begins to lose grasp on the difference between the game and reality . the matrix made a similar point in a more complicated way , that sometimes the lines of reality are blurred . existenz ends up playing like an indie version of the matrix that spends more time on smarts than on violence . while existenz is not as showy as the matrix , its ending is much more thought-provoking . 1999 is turning out to be the year that sci/fi makes its big return . i am definitely not a sci/fi buff , but with existenz and the matrix being released even before the new star wars , this year looks to be the year of science-fiction . existenz not only marks the return of jennifer jason leigh , but it is also the first film that david cronenberg has made since 1996's erotic car crash thriller ( ? ) crash . the canadian filmmaker is known for his unique visual sense , and his ability to create new worlds . existenz is one of his very best films . also , ian holm and sarah polley ( both of the sweet hereafter ) have small roles , proving that when you put those two in a movie together , good things happen . existenz is not a perfect film , but it will be remembered by me as one of the year's best . a review by akiva gottlieb , the teenage movie critic <a href= " mailto : akiva@excite . com " >akiva@excite . com</a> <a href= " http : //www . angelfire . com/mo/film " >http : //www . angelfire . com/mo/film</a> watch me on tbs' " dinner and a movie " may 21 , 8 : 05pm est <hr>get your free , private email at <a href= " http : //mail . excite . com/ " >http : //mail . excite . com/</a> 
