Steven Soderbergh‘s Presence is a ghost story seen through the eyes of the ghost.
When Rebekah (Lucy Liu) and Chris (Chris Sullivan), their daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) and son Tyler (Eddy Maday) move into a new home, they initially write off a set of uncanny incidents until the presence haunting their home can’t be ignored.
As it’s shot entirely from the point of view of the ghost, Presence reveals its narrative through conversations and actions other characters don’t expect to be sharing. This does lend a mildly voyeuristic appeal to the film, but also limits its dramatic impact. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with the performances of the cast, but the lack of conventional framing and editing make it all feel like a recording of a dress rehearsal. At times it almost feels like Soderbergh was dared by somebody to make a film with these constraints, and couldn’t welch on the bet. It really feels like a film-school exercise that’s been stretched out to feature length. It’s hard to get fully invested in a film where you are constantly aware of the technique.
There is a Shyamalan-like twist at the end of the film that will make you reassess everything that’s happened. The problem is that the rules of the film aren’t very clearly established and so it raises nagging questions as to why the ghost can’t do something at a critical moment when it could before, taking you right out of the action at critical moments. It’s a frustrating watch.
Presence is an intriguing idea for a film, but it only ranks as a nice try for Soderbergh. Its commitment to its point-of-view gimmick without any particular stylistic flair makes it only a mildly entertaining film.
