Review: Possessor (2020)

Directed by: Brandon Cronenberg
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Written by: Brandon Cronenberg
Music by: Jim Williams
Country: Canada
Available on: 4K/Blu-ray/DVD (Well Go USA)
IMDb

I love David Cronenberg, so of course I’ve been curious about the filmmaking career of his son, Brandon. I was left kind of cold by his debut feature, Antiviral (2012), and I feel the same about this one, a movie about assassins who can possess another person’s body to carry out hits. The hype around both movies is just too much focused on how Brandon is walking in his father’s footsteps, but I don’t think that’s the case, really. While the elder Cronenberg used bodily horror and clinical situations as a way to explore complex and rich inner emotional lives, Brandon’s work thus far is missing that second part while pulling punches on the first part. Possessor isn’t nearly as horrific as it was rumored to be, and none of the characters are very fully drawn. This movie is an exploration of the cost of not investing in human connections, but it never really sets up an audience connection with the main character Tasya or the man she possesses for most of the movie, Colin, so the stakes are low. This review sounds pretty negative but I don’t really mean it to be: it’s a well-made and pretty entertaining movie that looks good and has some interesting moments, but I also don’t feel like it’s the game changer many reviews have made it seem to be. Young Cronenberg seems like he’s still feeling his way around for a way to stand out. Maybe he’ll get there, but I think Possessor falls a little short.

Rating: 7 out of 10