Possessor

“Possessor” isn’t a good movie. Which is too bad. Because it has some interesting ideas and some interesting imagery. Basically, it’s set in a future in which people use technology to inhabit other people’s bodies. In this case, Tasya is a hitwoman who occupies other people’s bodies to kill other people for reasons that are financially motivated. Andrea Riseborough does a fine / creepy job with the role of Tasya, and it’s interesting to watch the body-hijackings take place. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays her super-creepy boss, Girder. And Christopher Abbott does a forgettable job as the main story line’s victim. The most interesting sequence in the film is a CGI representation of Tasya melting into her victim’s psyche; bodies turn liquid and boundaries go fluid. But the film falls apart on the plot level, leaving us wondering why we should care. Even the hyper-gruesome gore murder parts come across as more of an aesthetic exercise than something we should care about. The ending is super grim, but a curious twist. In any case, I guess when the director is the son of David Cronenberg, happy endings aren’t on the menu.

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