Lifestyles

iRate: Cronenberg crushes film debut by breaking the audience

By Jason Guyer
I often wonder how many people have seen films that just stick with them.

What are those films?

Are they the same as the ones that have done so for me?

I don’t mean what your favorite movie is as, for me, that is an entirely different question and favorites can be favorites for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include: comedic aspects, dramatic moments, and magnificent adventure.

What I mean by a movie that “sticks with you” is a film that regardless of whether you liked it or not, the source material caused the film to be remembered by you. This can also come with a variety of choices and those choices can be different from person to person.

To put an example to the question, I would say a film like M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense.” This is a film everyone knows because of the ending. Regardless of the fact that a person likes the film or not, the ending is undeniably memorable.

Another few examples would be David Fincher’s “Seven” or “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Often regardless of whether people actually like the film Brad Pitt screaming, “What’s in the box!?” is remembered. One of Hannibal Lecter’s most memorable lines is, “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

The majority of people know when they see a film that is great in whatever way “great” is defined by them.

Greatness can almost always be seen, it is just not always fully appreciated.

Obviously, the above examples are also some of my choices — not necessarily my favorite — for a topic or category like this.

The other day, I added a movie to this list.

The film is Brandon Cronenberg’s “The Possessor: Uncut.” This film is currently playing at Claremont Cinema 6 and I would urge people to go see it. Well, with a couple caveats to know beforehand.

First, this film is for people who would be considered of an appropriate age because this film is nowhere close to family friendly or a kids film.

Second, the viewer should be prepared to be uncomfortable.

If you go to the theaters to “settle in” and be entertained, this film is not one where that will happen. The majority of films want you comfortable and enjoying the story, characters, plot, and essentially the film as a whole.

“The Possessor: Uncut” is an enjoyable experience (for some) but may not be for most because it does not settle the viewer into the material its whole point is to make the viewer uncomfortable.

Brandon Cronenberg — and yes he is the son of David — wants you to feel uncomfortable and directs in a way that does exactly this.

What I mean by that is there are often tricks a director can utilize to direct the viewer down very specific paths that the director wants the viewer to go down.

Masters of this are directors like David Fincher or even going back a little further back to Alfred Hitchcock.

One trick that Cronenberg utilizes is character framing. The easiest and probably most common way for films to do this is bright lighting and center the characters in the frame or scene. I would say this is most common and the baseline for directing. It is more common, easier, and most importantly gives the viewer what is expected.

In “The Possessor: Uncut,” Cronenberg does the opposite essentially. If you watch carefully, there are many scenes where the main character or the character the scene is concentrating on is not centered in the frame. The character is actually quite off center.

A particular scene has one of the lead characters walking down an alley but instead of centered in frame (as the alley is) the character is to the bottom right corner of the frame. This may not seem like much but, psychologically speaking, this is not what is expected so it unsettles the viewer whether they consciously know it or not.

What Brandon Cronenberg has created here is insanely beautiful and artistic and keeps you there, even though what is being shown could be considered over the top, gross, or macabre.

He makes you feel good about being made to feel uncomfortable and ultimately by the end of the film it feels like Cronenberg breaks you. He breaks the audience with “The Possessor: Uncut” and that is a new unfamiliar experience for me in a movie theater. It made me enjoy the film all that much more.

This is a master stylistic feat that makes this movie a memorable one. For his first feature film, “The Possessor: Uncut” is a proverbial home run.

“The Possessor: Uncut” is a psychological thriller/sci-fi film and is heavy on both. The film’s premise is that through a certain process ordinary citizens can be used as avatars for assiantions.

The story and basic premise is not one that is entirely different than other films but “The Possessor: Uncut” does take a fresh look at it and feels original in its take on it.

The acting is well done and accomplished even though most of the lead actors are not well known.

The most well known actor in the film is probably a secondary character named Reeta played by Kaniehtiio Horn.

If you don’t recognize her name she is best known for playing Tanis in the very funny and wonderful constructed television show, “Letterkenny.”

Some may know Andrea Riseborough from a few roles from things like “The Black Mirror” television show or from “Birdman.”

The most high profile actor in the film is Jennifer Jason Leigh but her character is also a supporting character and one that does not get enough screen time or character work to define the character as she should be.

Riseborough’s Tasya Vos is the assassin who takes over people and Abbott is one of these would-be assassins who mentally “fights” back.

Although the argument could be made that he loses before he ever even starts or tries to fight back.

As is often true with sci-fi films, if you dive too deep into the science or reality of the situation the film falls apart.

“The Possessor: Uncut” is meant for the experience and the experience is nightmarish and highly visceral for the viewer.

There really is no other way to explain it and quite frankly I feel like I am underselling it.

If you want a mind-bending and absolutely warped but worthwhile experience, go see “The Possessor: Uncut.”

You will not regret it one! Well, maybe you will but it will at the very least be memorable.

IRATE SCORE: 3.5/5

Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected].

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