Possessor (2020) ****
Brandon Cronenberg's sophomore feature, Possessor (2020), is a psychological body horror gender bender mindfuck that can hold its own against his famous father's films—a slow burn cyberpunk fever dream concerning a corporate assassin whose reality begins to blur as she fights for her identity.
The almost-exclusively in-camera, practical effects are brilliant, brutal, disturbing, and disorienting. The bursts of violence don't arrive that often and don't last long, but leave an indelible impression. The production design, with its mishmash of styles, and the cinematography—where everything is slightly off-kilter—create a unique experience.
On the acting front, everyone is good across the board, but if I have any complaints it's that star Andrea Riseborough is not on screen enough (this was also true for 2018's Mandy (review). Landing Jennifer Jason Leigh, who starred in the senior Cronenberg's eXistenZ (1999) (review) (itself a sort of sister film to 1983’s Videodrome (review)), was a coup for Brandon—her role is small, but pivotal.
Possessor was my favorite film of 2020 and it held up well on a revisit.
Recommended for fans of the aforementioned films, Gemini (Sôseiji) (1999) (review), and Ghost In The Shell (1995) (review).
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