In the not-too-distant future – wait, no, it’s apparently an alternate version of 2008 – the very latest in corporate espionage and assassination is remotely “possessing” the bodies of others in order to get close to the target. As you might imagine, all the potential for violence and kinky sex aside, this puts quite a strain on the personal lives and personal identities of the possessors, such as protagonist Tasya (Andrea Riseborough). Tasya’s latest assignment sees her possessing Tate, a low-level corporate worker who happens to be dating the boss’ daughter.
The picture, from David Cronenberg’s son Brandon, explores many themes that will be familiar to devotees or even casual viewers of his father’s work: clinical violence, bizarre psychiatry, bodily transformations, the implications of biotechnology, fractured identities, trouble distinguishing between realities. With that said, stylistically Brandon’s work is almost exactly the opposite of David’s, contrasting his father’s cold and objective style with something that is warmer, more self-consciously artistic, and so abstract that it’s often hard to follow the actual plot. Trust me, you’ll be grateful for the synopsis.
If you have the patience for it, and if you’ve already enjoyed David Cronenberg’s most recent and highly excellent film, Crimes of the Future, you may get something from Possessor, but it isn’t an easy film to like or even follow. It’s a lot of investment considering the payoff is not much more than this: if you enter someone else’s mind, you’re liable to lose your own.
Although Possessor only came out four years ago in 2020, it’s already getting the typically loving Second Sight treatment. Among the extras are a commentary with Brandon Cronenberg, cinematographer Karim Hussain, producer Rob Cotterill, and effects artist Dan Martin. These figures also each give solo interviews, respectively entitled “This Unfamiliar Life”, “Inside the Machine”, “Feel the Real” and “FX Show and Tell”. In addition there are three “archival” (i.e., carried over from the original 2020 release) featurettes, as well as “Disassociating from Mind and Body”, a short video essay by Zoë Rose Smith which touches on the film’s major themes in an accessible manner. We also get some deleted scenes, a trailer, and some camera test footage which is shot through with Lynchian surreal horror. In all, these features are informative in terms of how the film was made, yet oddly unsatisfying. The best feature is the short film, “Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You”, which explores broadly similar themes to Possessor, and no wonder, for it was made to fill time while waiting for production on Possessor to move forward. I actually liked the short more than the feature.