While some audiences may think that Steven Soderbergh (Kimi; Ocean’s Eleven) may have lost the spark he once had, one thing is for certain — the choices of what he decides to partake in creatively in some capacity are all at least interesting. Even if the movie as a whole misses the mark, there is always something thought-provoking about what the movie is trying to say or how it is told. He doesn’t just making a movie to stay active, he’s contributing to something that isn’t afraid to take risks. While his newest outing, Presence, is a misfire, it certainly is going to push the capacity of audiences before its third act and that will rub some audiences the wrong way.
Were you, like me, annoyed by David Lowrey’s A Ghost Story (2017) and wanted something more and less arbitrary? Well, thankfully, writer and executive producer David Koepp (Kimi; Spider-Man) takes a similar concept of story and makes it something that truly pays off come the third act, but demands you to sit there and linger with the mundanity and chaos before it. The film focuses on a family of four, which is lead by the matriarchy of Rebecca (Lucy Liu), her husband Chris (Chris Sullivan), and their two children Tyler and Chloe (Eddy Maday and Callina Liang, respectively). They buy a house before it even hits the market off a real estate agent (Julia Fox) and slowly start settling their lives into the new home. While it is originally unknown why the family has decided they needed to move, it is revealed that the decision was made after Chloe’s close friend died — unexpectedly.
While Rebecca is the go-getter and seeming breadwinner, she has no time for her daughter’s depression and solely focuses on Tyler, who is an active athlete and is unphased by the death of his sister’s friend. This creates undo tension between the family in all regards and creates an interesting dynamic for the audience to follow. However, shortly after they move in, Chloe starts to notice and feel something strange in the house, a presence. Despite no one believing her except Chris, she is left to handle and deal with this unknown feeling and the thought that her friend is tried to communicate with her.
L-R: Callina Liang as Chloe, Chris Sullivan as Chris, Eddy Maday as Tyler, and Lucy Liu as Rebecca in PRESENCE. Photo courtesy of NEON.
While all of this may be something mundane and uninteresting, in the hands of Soderbergh, it presents itself in a way that brings something truly interesting and unique to the forefront. Everything is filmed from the perspective of the spirit; it never breaks from this. We’re constantly inside the house, nearly unable to leave, and have to see everything from the perspective of the presence itself. Its unsettling and unnerving, but truly provides a new insight and outlook to examine the world Koepp creates for the audience. Truly unlike anything in this genre and subject, as the third act comes around, the feelings of helplessness, exasperated dread, and anxiety take the forefront and this is truly only accomplished because of the style of film making itself.
Lucy Liu (Lucky Number Slevin; Kill Bill Vol. 1), who plays the ambivalent and self-centred egotistical Rebecca, is remarkable in how she effortlessly captures the careless mother who only cares about how they’re perceived. Chris Sullivan (The Drop) is definitely just stuck and cannot find what he needs to get unstuck from the situation, but he also wants to be there for his daughter. Eddy Maday, being the jock brother who does care about his sister, and family, excellently plays him as less than enthused. It is Callina Liang (Bad Genius) who steals the show and also is the shining star in the film, at least the one who can be seen. Presence is truly an ensemble piece that works effortlessly and pays dividends on the remarkable performances that they deliver.
The cast delivering on the rich dynamics Koepp created results in underlying cracks throughout the film culminating in an explosive third act, leaving Presence to sit with and haunt its audience, not just at the end of the 85-minute run time, but for days and weeks, if not months, after it ends.
Screening during Toronto International Film Festival 2024.
In theaters January 24th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival 2024 Presence webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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