If you are looking for a way to cope with death and grief and cancer and conspiracy theories and the ethical and moral implications of rapidly expanding technology and artificial intelligence, you could do years of research, write some academic papers and see a counselor.

Or you could go to the Robinson Film Center and see The Shrouds. Writer and director David Cronenberg has done most of the heavy lifting for you.

In the film, Vincent Cassel plays Karsh, a grieving widower who has developed an innovative cemetery business.

When his cemetery is vandalized and his data hijacked, Karsh spins into a web of conspiracies that involve the Chinese, the Russians, affairs, and hackers. Watching him struggle to keep his sanity as he untangles himself from it all will keep you on the edge of your seat, even if you do have to squirm a little bit.

The Shrouds shares some of the highbrow weirdness that defines other Cronenberg films. But it’s paired with the bitter truth of the director’s own struggle with his wife’s death to cancer in 2017 after 43 years of marriage. That fact lends a bit of credibility to the craziness.

- Scott “Scooter” Anderson, Scooter Anderson Communications