Much like how his 2018 psychological thriller Unsane was elevated by it being shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus, Steven Soderbergh is implementing another technological gimmick of sorts in Presence, a ghost story that’s filmed entirely from the point of view of the haunting figure lurking within the walls of a sprawling suburban residence.
The camera glides throughout the two-storey home that serves as the entire locational point for Soderbergh’s feature, which the film’s unnamed, scattered real state agent (a briefly enjoyable Julia Fox) assures the buyers has never been lived in before. The buyers are the Payne family, and near-immediately we can gather their dynamic, with matriarch Rebecca (Lucy Liu) proving the pants-wearer in her marriage to the more sensitive Chris (Chris Sullivan). Their children, son Tyler (Eddy Maday) and daughter Chloe (Callina Lang), are equally opposed, with Tyler, a swimming prodigy of sorts, clearly favoured by Rebecca, whilst Chloe’s solemn appearance gives way to the revelation that she’s mourning the loss of her friend, an apparent drug overdose.
Each scene is shot in one continuous take before a black fade-out sets up the next, and it’s with this that we garner a snapshot into these lives, with this unseen figure lurking in corners, giving a whole new meaning to fly on the wall as it pieces together this family and what’s causing their individual pain. The technical prowess overpowers the script work from David Koepp though, with the Panic Room scribe leaving the ghost as an ambiguous figure. The real estate’s clear intention on needing to sell the house could’ve been masking the fact that a tragedy took place within the walls. But with Chloe in mourning and expressing an openness to spirits, is there a deeper connection at bay? Koepp doesn’t seem stressed with such details, and whilst a sense of ambiguity is welcome in stories such as this, certain narrative reveals and character intentions unveiled in the film’s latter half beg more questions than yield answers.
The film only ever flirts with the more horrific inclinations of what a ghost could prove capable of, and the spirit’s protection over Chloe is ultimately where Presence thrives the most. We can sense the ghost’s empathy for her, and had the film explored their relationship further, it could have been a more emotionally resonate feature. The snippets of life we bare witness to are amusing, mundane and intriguing in equal measure, but Chloe is the only character given deeper paint strokes, with Tyler’s occasionally bratty, entitled nature wearing thin and, as grand as she is, Liu can’t exactly imbue Rebecca with an endearing nature.
Whilst Presence doesn’t always make the most of its premise, and I can imagine certain narrative beats surrounding Chloe’s new beau (West Mulholland) will prove the film’s biggest divisive ingredient, there’s still enough of an emerging, defined personality for it to have, well, presence.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Presence is screening as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, running between September 5th and 15th, 2024. For more information about the festival, head to the official site here.
