#andreariseborough

With David Cronenberg moving away from the body horror genre, his son has picked up the torch. With Antiviral and now, Possessor Brandon Cronenberg shows an eerie affinity for it. This film will have you checking your fingers to make sure they’re still there and feeling your scalp to make sure no holes have appeared. It’s strikingly original, with excellent performances. Particularly effective are the special effects and makeup. Not because they make you wonder how they were done; because of the way they’re utilized.

Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is a professional assassin working for a high-tech organization. They leave no crime to investigate because the killer is always someone close to the victim; someone whose body Tasya has taken over before committing suicide and returning to her body. Her career has made Tasya increasingly distant from her husband, Michael (Rossif Sutherland), and son, Ira (Gage Graham-Arbuthnot). Her boss, Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh), doubts her ability to do the job and retain a normal life. Tasya nonetheless accepts a new assignment.

Possessor brings discomfort on so many levels. First, there’s the premise. Killing people for profit is bad enough but it’s the way they're murdered. I don’t mean the brutality of Tasya’s crimes - though their savagery will have you reeling. It’s the idea of taking someone over and then pinning the crime on them. The victim can't even plead innocence in court because each assignment ends with Tasya putting a gun in her mouth. It’s a whole new level of cold, and this is an organization. They have doctors who implant devices into people’s skulls, lab technicians that work the machine Tasya's plugged into, researchers, moles, and more. Do they not see what we see? probably not. Cronenberg (who also wrote the screenplay) brings the camera super close when blood flows, allowing us to see the teeth being knocked out of the place, and the blades penetrate the skin. Still, this has been going on for years.

Little details throughout also make you uneasy. Andrea Riseborough’s look, for instance. The way she moves, her hair, the way she speaks to her victims and family. It’s like she’s not even human anymore. Her latest possession, Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott). His job is the kind of creepy voyeurist grind you imagine happening in real life. Some unscrupulous corporation must be paying people to do what he does… but Cronenberg shows it to you. Even if we close our eyes, the imagines we’ve seen won't go away. I doubt even shards of glass plunged deep into our eye sockets would reach far enough to extract them.

Then, we see these relatively simple but deeply effective visions/dreams. The symbolism is as easy to decipher as 2+2, which makes them even more unsettling. You know more horror is coming but what kind? It leads to a conclusion that's brilliant and chilling. I had to watch it a second time to make sure it happened like I thought it did. I'm almost sorry I double-checked. Now I've got to find a way to shake that feeling. The brilliant originality of Possessor and its stylish direction make you eager to see what is coming next. (April 24, 2021)

Damian Lewis in The Silent Storm: There is no end to the man’s versatility. Have you seen the film yet?

Burden has a compelling story. You can tell why Andrew Heckler was inspired by it - enough to both write and direct. Unfortunately, the approach is all wrong. Finished in 2018 and only receiving a wide release now, this drama feels like an anomaly in a post-George Floyd, post-Get Out, post-Black Panther world.

Based on true events, Mike Burden (Garrett Hedlund) is a full-fledged member of the Ku Klux Klan. His surrogate father, Tom Griffin (Tom Wilkinson) has even gifted him the deed to the soon-to-open KKK Museum in Laurens, South Carolina. After falling in love with single-mom Judy (Andrea Riseborough), she convinces him to leave his racist family. Unfortunately, the Klan's influences make both lose their jobs and their home. When Reverend Kennedy (Forest Whitaker) agrees to help, Mike’s prejudices are challenged like never before.

Burden kept me interested. It’s a shock to see a museum dedicated to the KKK opening in 1996. Tom Wilkinson’s great in his role as the grand goobligoo of the Klan. There’s also something appealing about this redneck, white trash “beauty and the beast” story. Finally, the film considers difficult questions with complex answers. As a reverend, Kennedy is compelled to help Mike, Judy, and Franklin. He walks the walk, which puts him at odds with his family, who cannot believe he has invited a man all-too-similar to the one who lynched his uncle into their home. There are powerful moments when David is confronted by his son, who asks him if he should seriously include the Klan members in his prayers. What does "praying for your enemies" really mean?

And here’s where we come to the “but”. There’s a conversation to be had about conflicting ideals in the face of hatred but it shouldn't be in a movie whose premises begins with “It’s the story of a racist who…” While there are a lot of Mike Burdens out there, his story is not provocative and tells us nothing new. Burden is yet another comfortable story about racial relations with the black characters on the sidelines. It doesn’t ask you to examine your own behavior or consider what part you play in this problem because no one watching this film is waving confederate flags, calling others n****rs, or a member of any explicitly racist club. It’s safe because everyone Mike knows or loves is trashy, poor, and uneducated. They might as well be from another planet. You can’t relate to anyone in a way that might make you upset and if your story about racism is only upsetting the people who would’ve never seen it in the first place, you’ve failed.

Burden is frustrating. The performances are solid. It has a certain "warts and all" quality that's admirable. Mike often does reprehensible things that strain your ability to care about him and Reverend Kennedy is so optimistic he infuriates his family. There are even moments that show off some of Andrew Heckler’s directorial flair. It’s clear this film has its heart in the right place but that isn’t enough. (December 27, 2020)