SPOILERS AHEAD
As you may know, due to the Coronavius pandemic, the London Film Festival (7-18th October) was moved online. While many films were still shown in select cinemas, many were only being shown on the BFI Player. I booked a ticket to see the LFF's closing film Ammonite - Francis Lee's second feature, following God's Own Country - at the Everyman in Glasgow. However, I had been advised by a tutor to try and watch a few festival films, so I decided to watch one online, too.
A few films caught my eye, one of which being Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor. I searched the name, saw the Rotten Tomatoes score - 93% - and decided to book a ticket. I didn't watch the trailer beforehand; I decided to just go in blind and see what happened. I'm glad I didn't watch a trailer, as I might've been put off.
That's not me trying to say the film was bad, by the way. I actually, for all it's strangeness, found it extremely enjoyable. However, it is quite brutal and gory, with vivid depictions of violence, body horror, trauma, and psychological decay. These aren't necessarily things that I would normally enjoy in a film, but Cronenberg portrays them in a manner that is sleek and visually stunning, drawing you in despite your best interests.
Possessor tells the story of Tasya Vos, an elite assassin that uses high-tech brain implant technology to take control of people's bodies - hosts - to perform kills. It seems as though this process usually goes smoothly, until Vos' next host fights back. What entails is a struggle between two consciousnesses, both trapped inside the same body and fighting one another for control.
One of Possessor's strongest attributes is it's acting performances. It features Andrea Riseborough as Vos, Jennifer Jason Leigh as her handler Girder, Gabrielle Graham as Holly, Christopher Abbott as Colin Tate, Tuppence Middleton as Ava Parse, and Sean Bean as John Parse (spoiler alert - he dies). Graham has been praised for her performance as Holly, and it's not difficult to see why. The film opens with a short sequence involving Holly as one of Vos' hosts, driven to murder a wealthy attorney at a party she is hostessing. While the scene of the murder itself is grisly, bloody, and visceral, what comes before it is truly astounding. As Holly is implanted and Vos' possession of her cemented, she undergoes a cycle of emotions - joy, sadness, anger - that are testament to Graham's skill and mastery of expression. Despite the fact that Holly's sequence is so short, it remains one of the most memorable parts of the film due to Graham's portrayal. Riseborough and Abbott both give excellent performances, particularly during scenes in which they are battling for dominance over Tate's body and consciousness. Abbot especially does a great job of acting the switches between Vos and Tate, making it seem as though someone else really is inhabiting his body.
The above machine is what Vos uses to take over the minds of her hosts. Thus, she is able to control them and then be 'pulled out' and back to her own body. Following the aforementioned opening scene with Holly, Vos is given a psychological examination by Girder. This is to ensure that her sense of self is intact and that there are no lasting traces of Holly. She identifies objects from her past, explaining their origins and their significances. When she comes to a frame with a mounted butterfly inside, she explains that she caught it when she was young, and felt guilty for killing it. This is an interesting admission, especially considering what Vos does for a living. Perhaps her lack of guilt as an assassin is due to the fact that she does not technically do the killing herself, only controls another body to do it? This exchange is repeated at the end of the film, only Vos no longer admits to her guilt over killing the butterfly. The empathy that she expresses at the beginning is eviscerated throughout the course of the film.
Vos is soon declared psychologically sound and hale, and is given a new assignment. The story goes as such: Vos has effectively been hired by Reid, stepson of John Parse. Parse is the owner of a data mining company that Reid wants control over. Thus, the mission is to kill Parse and his daughter Ava, allowing Reid to take over the company. Colin Tate, Vos' host, is Ava Parse's boyfriend. Vos spends some time observing Tate before she enters the machine, analysing his mannerisms. She covertly spies on his home in a sequence that is paralleled later, when Tate does the same with Vos' home where her ex-husband and son live.
Almost from the beginning, it is clear that this mission is not going to run smoothly. Vos was not fully briefed on Tate's life, and is at times blindsided by the way that those around him interact with him. Vos and Tate war for control almost immediately; their voices slip and merge together, suggesting that Vos is not fully in command of the host's consciousness. To recalibrate, Vos runs through an emotional examination that is similar to the one performed by Holly at the beginning of the film. Essentially, she runs through different emotions to ensure her control over the host. This is an interesting concept, especially considering the implications of masks and performativity of emotions.
The plan to kill John Parse is set in motion fairly quickly. Tate - 'controlled' by Vos - attends a party with Ava, where he has a loud, brash argument with Parse in full view of everyone, thus establishing a motive. He is kicked out of the party, but lurks in the bushes until the guests have left. He then creeps back inside and attacks Parse with a poker instead of the company-issued gun that kills are supposed to be conducted with. This is an interesting choice for Vos. She claims that it is more in character for Tate, but she does have the option of using the gun - is encouraged to do so. Given her earlier remorse for the close, involved action of killing the butterfly, one would think that she would rather a detached kill that didn't require physical contact. Nevertheless, Parse is killed with the poker in a gruesome, bloody display. One of his eyes and some of his teeth are carved out in a show of barbarism that goes beyond what we have come to expect of Vos, again given the butterfly story.
Ava's death is more clean-cut, execution style; two shots to her back, followed by a final bullet to the head. Once the job is complete, Vos attempts to commit suicide - as Tate, killing the host is what enables her to be pulled out - but she is unable to make Tate do so, due to the fact that his consciousness is awake and sparring with her own. What follows is an experimental, hallucinatory sequence in which Tate and Vos' faces and limbs melt into one another. The imagery is disturbing but highly effective in conveying the war between their consciousnesses. Following this, Tate's consciousness becomes dominant, although Vos is still sharing his brain-space, evidenced by the bleed through in their actions and dialogue. Their speech patterns and mannerisms differ, so it is easy enough to tell who is dominant at any given moment.
Tate, while dominant, heads to Reeta's house. Reeta is a friend of Ava, and has previously slept with Tate. She is heading away on business, and acquiesces to Tate staying in her apartment while she is gone. While Tate is in her apartment, his friend Eddie comes to visit. We met Eddie in an earlier sequence where Tate went to work, and Vos was taken aback by his attitude and supposed connection to Tate. Eddie admits that he had been planted by Vos' agency, and is there to help re-establish Vos' dominance over the host. This seems like it is successful, except Tate appears and physically attacks Vos, removing her face and wearing it as a mask. He is then able to access her memories, thus crossing over into her headspace as she had done with his. He once again becomes the dominant consciousness, killing Eddie and leaving him in a bloody puddle on the floor. Reeta's apartment is largely comprised of muted colours, thus making Eddie's blood all the more vivid against the cream carpet.
From here, things get slightly more difficult to follow. Tate heads to Vos' home - well, old home, since she doesn't permanently live there anymore, but her ex-husband and son do - and becomes a voyeur of her life as she was with his. Only, she is not there for him to observe; not physically, anyway. She is within is mind, so can be observed within. Things escalate quickly, culminating in the murder of Vos' ex-husband by Tate. Once again, this scene is brutal and bloody. Vos is also present in the scene, suggesting that it is perhaps taking place in a psychic plane. Her son, Ira, then appears and stabs Tate in the neck, thus initiating his death and enabling Vos to be pulled out. Tate, as he dies, shoots Ira, who is then revealed to be Girder. In an Inception-esque twist, she has entered the plane - Tate's headspace - to retrieve Vos.
Listen, I know it's confusing. I was confused. I still am. It makes more sense if you watch it.
Following the assignment, Vos undergoes another psychological evaluation. As mentioned earlier, her remorse over the killing of the butterfly has disappeared, thus suggesting a shift in her mentality. Girder does not seem phased by this, however; perhaps Vos' detachment and lack of empathy is necessary for her career. I imagine this is true for a high-profile assassin.
Possessor is a film that is not afraid to push you beyond the boundaries of your own comfort. It certainly did that with me, but not to the point of displeasure. It is a thrilling watch, and offers an intriguing exploration of the human psyche and brain-implant technology. Interestingly, much of the film's effects - specifically during aforementioned nightmare, hallucinatory sequences - were done in camera rather than VFX. Their success is testament to the cinematographer, Karim Hussain, who does an excellent job of ensuring that despite the subject matter, the film is visually stunning, sleek, and stylish. Brandon Cronenberg began with an idea of a person who feels as though they are an impostor in their own life. He has certainly succeeded; this can be effectively applied to either Tate or Vos and the struggles that they each face in the film.
Ultimately, Possessor is a thrill; a gruesome, bloody, unforgettable thrill. If that sounds like your kind of thing, I'd recommend checking it out. I'm not entirely sure where you would find it, but I believe it will be released for home viewing some time soon. In the meantime, why not watch the trailer and let me know what you think?
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