VIFF 2020 | Violence, Drama, and Experimental Sci-Fi Abounds In "Possessor"
7/12 ForReel Score | 2.5/5 Stars
When you talk about going undercover, it often means taking on a new identity or putting on a disguise. But what if it meant hijacking a person’s mind and body to pull off an assassination? That’s the idea in Possessor, a goulash of sci-fi, horror, and experimental filmmaking that plays out over a fascinating premise. There are audiences out there that will likely gravitate to this film, and writer and director Brandon Cronenberg dresses it in all of the grim, horrific, mind-bending components needed to satisfy that audience.
In Possessor, a corporation has the technology to override the consciousness of another person with the consciousness of one of their agents. The objectives are nefarious: assassinate certain people associated with the host to stage a situation that benefits their clients. “Pull me out” is the magic phrase that marks the completion of the task. An act of suicide to tie up the last loose end, and conciousnesses are restored.
Tosya Vos (Andrea Riseborough, Mandy) is a star performer in this capacity. But when she takes over the mind and body of her newest mission’s host, Collin Tate (Christopher Abbott, It Comes At Night), it seems the overwhelming stress of her job and her life have caught up to her when something goes wrong at the end of the mission. Tosya finds herself trapped in the mind of Collin, and the mind of Collin begins fighting back for control.
Christopher Abbott in Possessor.
Possessor is a wild and particular brand of sci-fi entertainment. The film toggles between slow and methodical exposition and high intensity bloodsoaked violence. The tone is unsettling; the violence, disturbing; and state of mind gets disorienting and grotesque. But the culmination of it all is sci-fi horror at its most interesting.
What’s more, Possessor is supported by a stellar cast. Key characters like Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Tosya maintain a calm, eerie, and uncanny demeanor as they discuss the difficulties and intricacies of the job and its objectives. And Christopher Abbott, who gives a ravishing performance in Lawrence Michael Levine’s gripping psychological thriller Black Bear, also shines in his role, playing both the consciousness of Tosya and Collin as they each struggle to maintain control.
Like the futuristic technology in play, Possessor will likely infect the far reaches of your brain to deliver provocative thrills. I will admit that because of the excessive violence and experimental-styled visuals, Possessor isn’t my ideal form of sci-fi. In fact for me, watching Possessor turned out to be very similar to the two feuding minds in the film: part of me wanting to pull out of it, and another part of me fighting to stick around. The latter won, and fortunately, I found the payoff to be worthwhile.
Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 2 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer's Preference - 1 | What does this mean?