Joey Magidson
Watching Steven Soderbergh experiment is always an interesting experience. He plays with form and upends expectations more or less no matter what he’s making. So, seeing him enter the realm of horror obviously is going to make for something unique. While one can draw comparisons to A Ghost Story, Presence is a different beast, both more unusual and more mainstream, depending on the scene. Playing on Day One of the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s an interesting movie that occasionally suggests something more.
Presence manages to be extremely confident in its experimental nature. It’s only when things get more traditional, or when the film takes a hard turn in the final section, that it feels like a lesser work. However, when it comes to Soderbergh, even a lesser work is still one more than worthy of serious consideration.
The film is set entirely in a house, one haunted by a spirit who serves as our sole point of view. We see a realtor (Julia Fox) enter to prepare to show it to a prospective buyer family. Rebekah (Lucy Liu) wants the house badly, as it’s big and in a good school district, while Chris (Chris Sullivan) had a more laid back approach. She wins out, since teen son Tyler (Eddy Maday) is a potentially scholarship level swimmer. Their daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) is mourning the loss of her best friend from what’s presumed to be a sudden drug overdose. They’re a normal family, if one with issues, and the spirit takes a keen interest in them.
As it/we observe the family, certain moments trigger the spirit to make its presence (no pun intended) felt to Chloe. Then, as events occur that I won’t spoil, the rest of the family becomes aware of its existence. It all builds to a conclusion that you’ll either find moving and surprising, or out of a different film entirely. For me, it was the latter.
While our protagonist is the unseen specter, the living cast is doing solid work keeping you invested. Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan are believable as flawed yet loving parents who each gravitate towards a different child. Eddy Maday just feels like a popular kid, while newcomer Callina Liang does a good job of showcasing the emotional toil that Chloe is going through. When they’re all together, it feels like a family unit. In addition to the Julia Fox cameo, the supporting cast includes West Mulholland in a role I’ll leave for you to discover.
Director Steven Soderbergh and scribe David Koepp are cruising along with pretty strong efficiency until a portion of the final act that I feel goes off the rails. The narrative choice by Koepp feels out of a completely different movie, so it bugged me more than I expected. Soderbergh’s direction and cinematography (he also serves as editor), however, are very much on point. There’s control in his form here that keeps you invested. Scenes drift in and out as the spirit becomes more or less invested in what’s going on. It feels like you’re a specter observing the family, which is fairly hard to pull off.
Presence kicked off TIFF for me with a mostly positive experience. The ending didn’t land for me, but watching Steven Soderbergh shoot the hell out of this single location flick is one hell of an interesting time. It’s hardly mainstream work, but when NEON puts this one out, it has a chance to connect with audiences. There’s something here, which is a credit to Soderbergh, to be sure.
SCORE: ★★★
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