- The last name and reality-bending premise may make you do a double take—yes—Brandon Cronenberg (son of David) is taking up the family business—mindf*ck cinema, disturbing and brainy.
Possessor starts with a dialogue-less action sequence- blue jumpsuits against the golden background of a posh hotel
- Certainly even without the last name it is hard not to think of Videodrome, eXistenZ (technology tied to the body)—but I don’t think others like Inception (corporate espionage, memory-blending) or even De Palma’s Mission Impossible are out of place as a comparisons either. Brandon Cronenberg’s work is darker (and eerier) than Nolan—sexualized and violent
Brandon Cronenberg (son of David) is taking up the family business—mindf*ck cinema
- It is a solid resume build for Andrea Riseborough (she certainly is developing a reputation with this and Mandy) and Christopher Abbott— and hats off to Jennifer Jason Leigh—she isn’t given much to do here but she continues to work in great films – The Hateful Eight in 2015, Good Time (2017), Annihilation (2018)
A mise-en-scene set-up with Riseborough and JJL in white futuristic chairs—and the red square perfectly symmetrical in the background
Big broad strokes color splashes on Riseborough’s face (red)….
…and Abbott’s bedroom (blue)
- The stain-glass ceiling of Sean Bean’s mansion
- Impressive mashup montages—Cronenberg shifts the focus, splice editing—distorting reality by putting us in the headspace of the protagonist like Aronofsky’s Pi
Impressive mashup montages—Cronenberg shifts the focus, splice editing—distorting reality
- A breath of fresh air—imaginative—excited to see what Brandon does next
- Recommend but not a top 10 of the year quality work
I haven’t seen the film, but the colorful images you have included on the page seem to merit a higher rating than an unspectacular R and, you state, no spot at all in the top ten of the lousy cinema year 2020. Do you think it is a higher level Reccomended? Might the grade be raised with repeat viewings?
@Graham- I mean just about any film in the archives could go up with repeat viewings. You should check out the film. Sure- at this point Possessor would fall into the top 10 of 2020 (I’ll change my last line to “Recommend but not a top 10 of the year quality work” to avoid confusion)– but I have work left to do on 2020 and 2020 was a horrible year. There are at least 22 films from 2019 (an extraordinary year so this isn’t a great barometer either) that I have graded higher than Possessor as an example.
Drake, 2020 is the worst year in how long?
In theory it should not have been like that, the 2020 films were already filmed, the worrying thing should be 2021 because they had to be filmed in 2020
This is a great question.
@Drake – Will films that were produced in 2020 but only be released in 2021 be counted as 2020 films or 2021 films?
@Zane- In general I use the release date on IMDB. So if they debuted somewhere in 2020 they’ll be 2020– if the studios shelved them (Dune, French Dispatch) then we’re still waiting. I just had this with Godard. The censors shelved Le Petit Soldat until 1963 even though it is the second film Godard made after Breathless- he shot it in 1960. For my purposes it is under 1963.
@Aldo- certainly something to think about as I go year by year here (I’m currently in the background finishing up the 1960’s) getting closer to 2020 I’ll try to think of maybe the next closest bad year to 2020. Yeah- I mean we’re talking about a global pandemic– extenuating circumstances. By all indications with the strong 2019 year- cinema is (or was) in a great place.
“Brandon Cronenberg is taking up the family business—mindf*ck cinema”
This is a great line!
Maybe he’ll get a cool nickname as well like Martin Scorsese’s hilarious nickname for David Cronenberg “Dave Deprave”
@James Trapp- haha thanks. And good call with that hilarious nickname
Well you mentioned it yourself on the Cronenberg page.
Brandon Cronenberg has some serious skills, it’s not easy to make a horror film that feels so fresh. Excited to see what he comes up with next.
@James Trapp- Agreed- and I can say in all honestly that I look forward to Brandon Cronenberg’s next film more than his father’s next film at this point
@Drake – I still need to see Crime of the Future, it’s on a short list but I am guessing that even if I enjoy it I will probably still agree, David Cronenberg is 79 now, Brandon is 42.
@Drake & James – have either of you seen B. Cronenberg’s other film, Antiviral yet?
@Harry – I have not, I actually thought Possessor was his debut film, so will check it out, thank you for the recommendation.
@Harry- Have not caught Antiviral yet
Is Infinity Pool(2023) in the archives? What do you think is the stronger film Possessor or Infinity Pool?
The war between father and son is interesting. I thought David was retired for some time. And now he has come out of retirement and trying to outdo Brandon.
@Lionel- It is in the archives, I think Infinity Pool is a tad stronger – both are rock solid though
@Lionel@Drake – I just caught Infinity Pool (2023) myself. Brandon is for real, and seems to have his own distinct visual style. Possessor was no fluke and this means one more exciting young auteur to look forward to. And more specifically another young auteur specializing in the horror genre
Brandon Cronberg – 43
Robert Eggers – 40
Ari Aster – 37
Jordan Peele – 44
Yorgos Lanthimos – 50
Nikyatu Jusu – 40
Jusu directed her debut feature Nanny (2022), which is a horror film I still need to watch. From Wikipedia:
“Nanny had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2022, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, making it the first horror film to ever win this award at Sundance.” According to an article (link listed below) MGM has acquired the rights for a Night of the Living Dead sequel and Jusu has signed on to direct it
https://collider.com/night-at-the-living-dead-sequel-nikyatu-jusu/
@James-I don’t know about Nikyatu Jusu. But I would recommend Travis Stevens. I watched The Girl on the Third Floor (2019) and it was crazy. He also has another two well received certified fresh films which he released recently. Jakob’s Wife(2021) and a Wounded Fawn(2022). His age is not public though. So don’t know where he lands.
@Lionel – Thanks for the recommendation, I watched Wounded Fawn (2022) last night, it was wild. The 1st half plays like a convention horror film or at least seems to be going that way, then the 2nd half transforms into surrealism. Its definitely worth a viewing. I’ll probably check out the other 2 as well at some point