One of the greatest directors from the 70s forward who put forth the idea of science fiction with body modification and manipulation was David Cronenberg. Imagine being the son of Cronenberg and having to live up to his record of films. It appears that his son Brandon is doing just that and succeeding. His latest film does just that and more, creating a science fiction premise that is frightening and fascinating at the same time.
POSSESSOR takes place in the near future and opens with a
brilliant yet violent segment that shows what the film is all about. A young
woman named Holly (Gabrielle Graham) is seen inserting something into the top
of her skull and reacting to the probe emotionally. Shortly after she is
attending a party as one of the hostesses there when she takes a knife and
kills a high profile attorney in one of the most brutal and bloody sequences
seen. Afterward she points the gun in her mouth but doesn’t pull the trigger.
Instead she points it at the police who kill her.
But it wasn’t really Holly who was responsible for the brutal killing. In reality she was being manipulated by Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough), a professional killer who works for a company that implants her consciousness into another person using them to pull of the contract. Having done this many times this last hit proved problematic because Holly was resisting Tasya’s plan to kill herself. Rather than inform her superiors Tasya keeps this to herself.
Tasya takes a short time off to visit her husband Michael
(Rossif Sutherland) and son Ira who she has separated with. To do so she has to
prepare herself, teaching herself how to speak and interact with normal people.
It seems the mechanics involved with her profession are taking their toll on
her. Unable to connect as much as she’d like, she leaves early and returns for
her next job.
The next assignment is a top priority one. The man being targeted is the owner of a massive corporation, John Parse (Sean Bean). They’ve been hired by Parse’s stepson Reid (Christopher Jacot) to kill both him and his daughter Ava (Tuppence Middleton) so that he can take over the company. Tasya’s company wants the hit done as well so they can use the information to blackmail Reid.
To put her in place Ava’s boyfriend Colin Tate (Christopher
Abbott) is captured and linked with Tasya. She now controls his body seeing
what he sees, manipulating him when called on to do so. In the meantime her
body lays in stasis back at the company’s facility being monitored. But things
don’t go as planned. It seems that Colin keeps trying to regain control of his
mind as Tasya works to continue manipulating him.
Simply getting through the day becomes difficult for Colin/Tasya, at one point with him blacking out. Trying to recognize people and not making him seem different in his behavior is a struggle. All of this leads to a dinner held at John Parse’ home. The question now becomes whether Tasya can control Colin long enough to pull off her mission or not and if so can she return to her own body?
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began watching this
film. I knew it premiered at Sundance but that doesn’t always mean a movie is
good. Sometimes those films can be critic darlings but audience dead weight.
Fortunately that wasn’t the case here. While the progress of the film is steady
the pacing is a bit slower than most. It doesn’t hurt the storytelling going on
here but some people might not be willing to go along for the ride without that
breakneck speed they’re used to. That would be their loss.
The story is compelling on various levels. There is Tasya who you want to understand and figure out why she does what she does. There is Colin who is fighting for his life here inside of his own skull. There is Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Tasya’s controller who has concerns for Tasya. There is Ava who seems the most innocent of the entire group. And there is John Parse, a jerk who at points seems worth killing. All of these characters combine to make an interesting story. And the acting on the parts of all involved make them come to life, becoming believable.
I’d love to say I love the film but in all honesty I really just enjoyed it but found it not a movie I’m likely to revisit. It is worth one viewing at least and will keep you guessing. The version being released is unrated due to a combination of gore and nudity so keep that in mind. Not one for the kids. On the whole you might enjoy this one if you’re a fan of sci-fi.
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