Possessor Review
NR (It’ll be rated R though)Runtime: 1 Hr and 42 MinutesProduction Companies: Rhombus Media, Rook Films, Particular Crowd Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment Director: Brandon CronenbergWriters: Brandon CronenbergCast: Christopher Abbott, Andrea Riseborough, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuppence Middleton, Sean BeanRelease Date: N/A
Tasya Vos is a corporate agent who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of the secretive organization she works for. While she has a special gift for the work, her experiences on these jobs have caused a dramatic change in her. She struggles to suppress violent memories and urges, and as her mental strain intensifies, she begins to lose control. Soon, she finds herself trapped in the mind of a man whose identity threatens to obliterate her own.
I can’t even fathom how it is to be raised by David Cronenberg. I bet you just get influenced by his fucked up films and inherit his crafty and bizarre vision. I’ve never seen David Cronenberg’s son’s first film, Antiviral, but with Possessor, I think it’s good to say that the Cronenberg family name still lives on. Possessor is as if Brandon Cronenberg played Assassin’s Creed, hated the shitty 2016 film adaptation, and made this as a response. So many elements from the film (which was vastly different from the game) are present here, and it truly feels like Cronenberg said:
Fuck Justin Kurzel. This is the Assassin’s Creed movie we deserve.
From its bombastically violent and gory cold open, Possessor explodes with such allurement as the audience is transported into a world where assassins use brain-implant technology to infiltrate the mind of a person so they can become them, control their mind, and go on assassination missions.Brandon Cronenberg holds up the family name through his demented, over the top, gut-wrenching violence, and disturbing yet effective imagery to put you in the psychology headspace between Tasya’s unrelenting psychosis as she’s battling a war with the mind of the man she has implanted herself in. When Tasya infiltrates the mind of her subject, Cronenberg puts you through her perspective in imaginative, if not disturbing, ways. He plays around with the physical presence of Andrea Riseborough as the lead, even though she’s in the mind of Christopher Abbott’s Colin. Both are extremely good in their designated roles, delivering effective performances where Riseborough slowly deviates herself into madness while Abbott has to face the repercussions of her deadly actions whenever he regains control of his body. So much of the story is focused on Riseborough and her pauses; her dissociation is so alluring. The missions she completes tend to take a toll on her mind. She forgets who she is at times and blankly stares off into space. I think it’s because of Riseborough’s big eyes that, while transforming into Colin, she oftentimes freaked me out. Then Abbott, when he has to portray Riseborough in his body, does a pretty good impression of her. Not with any accent, but he mimics her natural, dry speech pattern and delivery.
The full enticement comes in the second act where Colin and Tasya battle with each other within Colin’s mind, controlling his actions externally and fucking with other parts of their brain, most primarily the hippocampus. When shit hits the fan on this mission, the fun truly kicks off. No matter how freakishly grotesque it gets, this frantically badass sci-fi thriller keeps you tense, at the edge of your seat, completely mesmerized. And, boy, those the violent action sequences...Like his dad, Brandon does not give a fuck when it comes to violence and who gets maimed. Everyone who gets shot, stabbed, beaten, physically dismembered, all kick the can in the most gruesome, bloody, uncomfortable manner, and god, it’s glorious. It’s as glorious as performing a fatality on your foes in Mortal Kombat. Each shot that returns as a closeup on the attacked section of that person’s body is so disgusting and yet so fascinating. You just can’t help but look. There are so many moments where I would cover my eyes and peek through my fingers like this:
I do love that kind of over the top, violent action, and boy, did this deliver.
Cronenberg does so much establishing this world, which follows its own rules and regulations, even down to a smart preparation period where the agents have to spy on their subjects to emulate their speech patterns. That said, it’s not fully thought out. Much of the functionality of the agency itself and its system, as developed as it is, features so many holes. When assassins have to implant themselves into a host, is the host aware of it or not? In the beginning, it seems as if the deal was reciprocal, but as the subject becomes Colin, it’s not? To go off on the agency’s flawed system, they don't study their subjects thoroughly before implanting themselves in their mind. Taysa, as great as she is in her field or as she’s presented to be, isn’t convincing enough regarding her performance as that other person, especially when she must be in this person’s mind for days at a time.
I don't regularly say this but...franchise this. Please franchise this. I want a Possessor franchise. This is such a badass concept with such meticulous execution. I want more of Possessor. I want a sequel. I'd love to see this concept expand itself into more ideas because it's fun, clever, and so entertaining. It features an ample amount of twists and turns to keep you enthralled for the entire ride.Rating: 4/5 | 83%
