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I am not sure if you are aware of the fact that every job an individual gets is viewed with admiration, I on the other hand consider it terrifying. Looking back, I was forced to apply for a poorly paying supermarket position which gave me tennis elbow if I wanted to be a responsible adult. Unlike so of the domestic chores I learnt as a child, work has largely remained an emotionally complicated affair. Brandon Cronenberg’s movie Possessor touches on these themes, particularly the deep-rooted issues associated with work, and the impact work as a concept has.
Assuming new identities, even when they are unwilling participants of the murder, is not something that most would enjoy doing, but for professional killer Tasya Vos it is just another day at the office. And this is exactly what the movie Possessor is all about. And as with other workers who are broken and hollowed out by their jobs, Tas’s next target is a rich CEO. Unfortunately for her, The CEO, along with her daughter, is another assignment that poses a severe risk to Tas’s dying self.
To put it briefly: Possessor is a stylish, surreal depiction of a hired assassin which, to some, can come off as overly complicated and melodramatic. At the same time, the film is almost devoid of impactful narrative twists. Much of what it aims to communicate will not catch you off guard. On one hand, the absence of breathtaking narrative shifts serves the movie. On the other hand, it really doesn’t matter does it? Nothing about the film’s content makes it stand out, but the manner in which it is crafted is what does.
For instance, like in any Cronenberg film, beaut is depicted in a surreal way in a scene that shows Collin Christopher ripping Tasya’s face off somewhere in a world his consciousness created for emulation, and puts it over her to display complete tokenism. Veiled in form, this is simply stunning for the horror enthusiasts, but the intended message is simply symbolic; he was able to fully regain control of his conscious. Brandon Cronenberg could’ve chosen many different forms of narrating this, but to get it across easier, he made it entertaining.
Movies where everything makes sense is something I miss, to some degree. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie with the same audacity as Possessor. Figuring it out by yourself is much more rewarding than an exposition dump. Of course, it could have focused on a more elaborate topic than just a hired assassin, but I would rather watch a movie that does things interestingly than one that tries to please too many people.
The central concept Possessor is built around is manufactured identity. It’s not like I’m being clever for figuring it out, Brandon Cronenberg discusses it openly in every interview. It is more fun to observe the essences of that theme unfold throughout the movie rather than following the movie’s plot. Especially in connection with an actual job and the respect and prestige that comes with it. In Possessor, employment is as soul sucking as it is necessary.
Certainly, Tasya is the simpler case. She spends her working hours literally BEING someone else which jumbles her memories a bit more each time. When she encounters her other man & child, she has to prepare to be herself first. Her job pays her for the disorder that helps her to optimally embody her target’s persona. Instead of fully blending into the persona that her mark expects her to embody, she partially fuses her self with their expectations. Ironically, this is what she does to other people. Obliterate self for function.
I wouldn’t call Possessor a socialist movie or anything like that. It simply falls short of any satisfactory remedies to the estrangement it advocates for.
He is straightforward in saying we are fucked and that spending too much time next to ourselves to get anything done is going to rewire and ruin our brains. He is not wrong. It says “the world is fucked” not “this is an alternative ideology by which to live your life” and I kind of dug that. It calls for a deeper introspection.
I suppose you figured it out already: I kind of liked Possessor. To be honest, it might have been too humble for its own good and tried too low with the hired killer trope but that was a refreshing change in storytelling. In a sense, it preached by example: Possessor is defined in an entirely different way than its intended use (as a hired killer movie with some horror elements in it) – it’s an exercise in self-determination. You have seen films with the same plot, but never have you watched films with such an engaging self-experience.
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