Mark (Sam Neill) comes home from a business trip and discovers that his wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce. When asked why, her answers are very vague. Anna always leaves home without explaining herself and this makes Mark curious. He hires a private investigator to follow her and the audience soon finds out Anna's secret.
Possession is a very interesting film. The first half is almost a pure drama about a married couple having a marital breakdown. We understand from both points of views on why they're frustrated at each other. Honestly, if the movie kept going at this direction, I would have been totally fine with it.
When the movie hits the midway point, things get very odd. There is
something clearly wrong with Anna and once we find out what she's up to
when she leaves home, Possession shows its absurd horror side. It's a
major contrast to the first half and if the director's intention was to
gross out the viewer, then bravo. The creature in the movie is
disgusting and let's just say I never wanted to see live action
tentacles having fun.
One of the best things about this film is the performance of Isabelle Adjani. Her character Anna goes through a ton of bizarre events but it's never corny. She is always believable. In fact, Isabelle plays two roles in Possession. She also portrays Anna's doppleganger, Helen, who's much more angelic when compared. There's a scene in the middle of the movie where Anna goes through an intense seizure. It's quite something and Isabelle performs it with fearless energy.
The cinematography is another high point about Possession. I'd imagine this is what a Terrence Malick horror film would look like. The camera is always dynamic. Constantly moving and never stabilized to the ground. Most of it is handheld and we get up close with the actors. Sometimes the camera would pull back on its dolly only to push in during a critical moment. Possession is a very stylish movie.
If there were any problems that I had with Possession, it's the
vagueness of the plot. We never get detailed answers about what's going
on. What made Anna become like this? Maybe it WAS explained but I might
have missed it. There's a lot that can be interpreted for the viewer.
Some of the performances are very over the top as well. Almost as if
they're all possessed in some way. No explanations at all.
The movie isn't particularly good as a whole, but it does have some strengths. Shot with great kinetic energy in its camerawork, Possession is a uniquely stylish horror flick. There's also a great performance here by Isabelle Adjani that's worth watching. 3/5
One of the best things about this film is the performance of Isabelle Adjani. Her character Anna goes through a ton of bizarre events but it's never corny. She is always believable. In fact, Isabelle plays two roles in Possession. She also portrays Anna's doppleganger, Helen, who's much more angelic when compared. There's a scene in the middle of the movie where Anna goes through an intense seizure. It's quite something and Isabelle performs it with fearless energy.
The cinematography is another high point about Possession. I'd imagine this is what a Terrence Malick horror film would look like. The camera is always dynamic. Constantly moving and never stabilized to the ground. Most of it is handheld and we get up close with the actors. Sometimes the camera would pull back on its dolly only to push in during a critical moment. Possession is a very stylish movie.
The movie isn't particularly good as a whole, but it does have some strengths. Shot with great kinetic energy in its camerawork, Possession is a uniquely stylish horror flick. There's also a great performance here by Isabelle Adjani that's worth watching. 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment