Are you the type to forgo logic in favor of romantically irrational notions of love? Film is filled with tales of love under incredible circumstances and a part of us seeks them out as a means to stimulate that place within ourselves longing to feel such an emotion as the characters on the screen. Sometimes, however, the romance and the characters on the screen are slightly too stupid to really have this effect. Take Possession, for instance, a thriller that would propose souls can jump from one body to the next under the power of true love. In itself it's an interesting concept, who wouldn't want to imagine that the one they love could have a second chance at life, and it's in a way the basis of reincarnation. The human inability to stave off the pain of loss can drive us to do many things, with Possession that includes believing something so unapologetically stupid in the face of a much simpler reality. Whoever wrote Possession was apparently under the impression that Occam's razor is a disposable.
Jess (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ryan (Michael Landes) lead an incredibly happy life with a marriage that seems to have gotten stronger since their marriage a year ago, as evidenced by the romantic gestures that would make the average guy cringe at the standard he sets for the rest of us. Their otherwise blissful life of married professionalism has but one flaw in its makeup: Ryan's ex-con brother Roman (Lee Pace) has been living with them since released on parole, a problem they plan on rectifying by sending him to a halfway home. Their conversation to export the fraternal problem is overheard by Roman and in a fit of anger he speeds off in his muscle car. In a stroke of bad luck, Jess calls Ryan telling him Roman is upset, prompting him to start driving home. Thanks to a foggy bridge, the two brothers collide ending up in paired comas on the pavement. Transported to a hospital, they lie in adjacent beds with Jess looking over Ryan and Roman's slightly abused girlfriend checking in on him every once in a while. Time passes, and eventually Roman wakes...or does he? Roman, or the soul in his body, claims to be Ryan in Roman's body. Could it be? Can it happen? Can using a defribilator when the pools of blood from two victims have mixed caused a soul to jump from one body to the next?
What does your heart tell you?
Despite having an otherwise sensible head on her shoulders, Jess gives in to this theory and begins her life (anew?) with Ryan in Roman's body. Everything seems perfect until issues start to arise. What really happened that day? Is the power of love so strong it can crush common sense into the dust?
Performances are pretty solid, with Lee Pace leading the pack. Gellar's no slouch, but after The Grudge, any role she takes in a psychological thriller type film just feels hollow and repetitious. Lee Pace on the other hand has been spreading his roles around different genres, and he's clearly benefited from the process. Michael Landes, despite such a short role, oozes with romantic sentiment – which is all he really needed to do for his role.
DVD Bonus Features
A few deleted and extra scenes do little to add to the film, they don't help make the premise any more believable or the character motivations beyond Roman's any more sensible. A little featurette has the cast talking about why they signed on for the film, and after hearing the press-bytes they offer up, it's clear there's a sense of post-filming regret.
The film doesn't have too much detracting from it besides its demand that you not just suspend the typical amount of disbelief, but that you waylay any common sense just so you're not slapping your forehead at what the film wants you to accept. Oh, and what's with the really inappropriately used tagline of “Fear never dies”? That has nothing to do with the film.
"Possession" is on sale March 9, 2010 and is rated PG13. Drama, Horror, Thriller. Directed by Joel Bergvall, Simon Sandquist. Written by Michael Petroni, Won-mi Byun. Starring Lee Pace, Michael Landes, Sarah Michelle Gellar.
