Possession

Title: Possession
Release: 2009
Starring: Sarah Michelle Geller and Lee Pace
Written by: Michael Petroni and Won-mi Byun
Directed by: Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Price: Available from Amazon Marketplace from £5.78 at time of posting (only available in Region 1)

Plot: Jess (Sarah Michelle Geller) and Ryan (Michael Landes) are a young married couple. Ryan’s aggressive and troubled brother, Roman (Lee Pace), is living with them, despite the fact that Jess is terrified of him, and he clearly displays sexual interest in her. When Ryan and Roman are involved in a car accident, both lie comatose… until Roman wakes up, claiming to be Ryan, in possession of Roman’s body. It could be that Roman has had a psychological break, occasioned by the accident, his unstable state of mind, and his obsession with Jess. It could be that he’s just pretending, fulfilling a wish he had expressed to his girlfriend to change himself and live a different, better life, more like that of his brother. Or he could really be Ryan, in possession of Roman’s body.

Roman (Ryan?) tries to convince Jess that he really is her husband

Most of the film concerns an exploration of this mystery, as Roman (or Ryan?) slowly convinces Jess that he is really her husband.

Is it any good?

I’m not going to lie, I probably would never have found this film if I wasn’t on a Lee Pace hit. It’s not well-known, and after difficulties with the production company, was never released in the cinema. On the other hand, the plot is right up my alley. Good man trapped in the body of an ostensibly bad/dangerous man – that’s my kind of angst, and it doesn’t hurt that the body in question is that of the beautiful Lee Pace.

It could have been unutterably painful. Body-swap stories are often filled with embarrassing moments played for humour, but missing the mark. This isn’t a comedy, so intentional humour was unlikely, but all credit should be given to both Geller and Pace for bringing really convincing and captivating portrayals. There’s no question in my mind that the actors make this movie. I had some concerns about Geller – I loved her in Buffy, but her film career has been less than stellar. This time, though, I felt she’d really pulled it off, full of all the understated power of her best moments under Whedon’s direction, but moving away from the pretty teenage icon into something more mature.

Gratuitous semi-naked Lee Pace

Geller is also an excellent match for Pace, who excels, both in the unsympathetic role of Roman, and in his change to the more familiar Pace-style role of the sweet and loving artist. I’ll admit, I was watching for angst, knowing how well Pace can bring that, but I was pleased to see him explore a fuller range and show that he can bring something intimidating and distinctly unappealing to the table, also.

In the absence of the performances, however, this is really nothing special. It does what it says on the tin. Of course, some of what it says is that it’s a suspense movie where you don’t quite know how it’s going to work out, but I wasn’t terribly surprised about where it went in the end. I’ll avoid spoiling it for you by saying whether Pace’s character turns out to be Ryan or Roman at the end of the film, but let’s just say that it wasn’t really where I would have chosen to take it, although Geller and Pace really sell it as a resolution.

There’s also much to be desired from the musical score, which is over-dramatic and intrusive. Combined with the copious tattoos and ridiculous goatee Roman sports at the start of the film the music leaves us in little doubt about how we’re supposed to initially feel towards Roman, especially in regard to his feelings for Jess. It’s belaboured and tiresome. The script isn’t bad – it has some depth and interest, but it’s lucky to have found itself in the possession of two such capable actors in what would otherwise be a very mediocre film.

All in all, Possession is a much better film than it has any right to be. It will probably be forgotten in the mists of films that went straight to DVD, and that’s a shame. It’s particularly a shame for Geller, who’s really proving her metal in a quality performance that almost no one will ever see. If you like Lee Pace, or share my taste for beautiful men engaging in understated angst, this film is genuinely worth your time. If you like psychological thrillers, you may enjoy it, too. In the game of suspense films that mess with your head about personal identity, it’s no Primal Fear, but it’s certainly worth a go.

X-Men: First Class

Except for the exceptions, this movie is exceptional. If there’s one superhero movie you should make the time to see this year, it’s this one. I haven’t decided yet whether to regard it as my favourite superhero movie of all time (there’s some stiff competition, and I do have some reservations), but it’s pretty damn good. I know in some parts of the internet it’s considered sacrilege to say this, but it’s better than Iron Man.

So, that’s some heavy praise. What was so good? Well, for starters, it is expertly cast. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are spot on for the younger versions of Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto). Jennifer Lawrence as the young Raven (Mystique) was also charmingly appropriate, both as an actor, and as a match for a younger version of Rebecca Romijn. Not to mention that January Jones was a true pleasure as Emma Frost – nice to see her in a more forceful role, as a contrast to her interesting, yet fragile beauty in Mad Men. But the real show stealer for impeccable casting was Kevin Bacon, as the ageless Sebastian Shaw. Given the old ‘six degrees of Kevin Bacon’ game inspired by his ubiquitous presence in films of the 90s, Bacon has been oddly absent from our screens in recent years. This was a wonderful role for him as a come back, especially as he still looks like he might have walked in right off the set of Tremors.

In addition to the casting, the script was simply excellent. Funny, understatedly sad with foreshadowing, and thrummingly charged in all the right places. Truly, the trailers do not do this film justice (and I thought the trailers were 100% squee-worthy). In particular, the quiet, not-meant-to-be relationship between Raven and Hank McCoy (Beast) was beautifully played.

This film was swinging with all the style and opulence of a 60s spy film, but also managed to capture the youthful exuberance and folly of a group of young people thrust together and discovering community in their difference.

So, what are the exceptions? [Spoiler alert] Most striking is the scene where Shaw’s Evil Mutants have invaded the compound where Our Heroes are getting to know each other, slaying dozens of men in front of the shocked eyes of the young mutants, and then asking the teenagers to join them. Who goes over to the dark side? The latino female sex worker. Which of the mutants dies senselessly in a completely unnecessary manner? The black one. In an otherwise brilliant piece of cinema, there’s really no excuse for such an outdated message that black men are expendable and women who have sex are evil. Overall, there’s an unusually high balance of men to women in this film, but as Aliette de Bodard pointed out on her Twitter feed (with one notable exception) they’re all evil. And even the otherwise commendable character of Moira McTaggart (played by Rose Byrne) gratuitously gets her kit off. Not to mention the ridiculous moment when Emma Frost’s otherwise impermeable diamond skin is apparently vulnerable to brass when she’s being tied up against a bed. These are not awesome messages, yo.

Of course, all of this is par for the course for a Hollywood movie, it’s just a shame when a fun, but otherwise lesser, movie like Thor recently did so much better so easily for female representation and discussion of race issues (even if the plot mostly centred about the woes of gods who presented as white males for most of the movie).

But I don’t want to dwell on that. Despite these objections, I still think this movie is 95% awesome, and one of the top superhero films ever made. Never have powers been used so well or effects been so good. Rarely have scripts been so finely crafted.

See this film. You will enjoy it.

P.S. There’s nothing after the credits – just FYI.