Possession

           
 

 Possession directed by Andrzej Zulawski. Starring Isabelle Adjani (1981).

    I recently saw an uncut print of this sleazy art house masterpiece at a packed theater. The Carlo Rambaldi cucumber creature still has the power to confuse some, while nauseating others. The audience had no way of knowing what to expect and were bamboozled! Just imagine if you had no reference point and went in blindly, you might think Possession was a highbrow divorce melodrama, almost like an anti Kramer v. Kramer. The scenes where Sam Neil and Isabelle Adjani smack each other around, grind meat and avoid each other in the same restaurant are ridiculous. They are unintentionally funny but also have a misogynistic edge. They also bring to my mind the addiction of routine and satisfaction that a healthy relationship can bring, once its cut off the madness sets in. Adjani gives her husband no explanation as to why she is leaving, this causes him to act as if he is going through heroin withdrawal. He can no longer function at his job and he cowers in the corner and shakes like a junkie. Their apartment quickly becomes a drug den, their child is confused and during the last scene he runs up the stairs and drowns himself in the bathtub. Neil goes after his wife’s new boyfriend, Heinrich; who acts like a cross between Klaus Kinski and Paul Lynde. Both Anna (Adjani) and Mark (Neil) abuse him mentally and physically. He is sliced up with a knife and in one of the most creative drownings ever filmed, Mark grabs a shoe and plugs up the toilet, smashes Heinrich over the head with the tank cover, shoves his head in and proceeds to vomit on his head. This scene was something out of a warped Looney Tunes cartoon.

Just wait Heinrich you are gonna drown in my puke!

Isabelle plays two roles, wearing contacts and a wig as their son's teacher, if only Mark would just hook up with her and forget his obsession with finding out the reasons his wife abandoned him, he’d be happy. Isabelle plays crazy very well as she looks distraughtly into the camera and spouts weird stream of consciousness gibberish (there are no subtitles on the DVD).

             The background of Possession takes place in barbed wire strewn Berlin, which gives it an extra level of claustrophobia and dread. Secret police walk around the desolate streets and inept detectives follow Anna around, as she brutally stabs one with a bottle in the throat.

            Sam Neil has never been more animated and out of his mind playing the tormented and self mutilating husband. My theory is that as a mainstream star, he keeps his dark secret hidden from the public (who've avoided such obscure work as Sleeping Dogs). They have no idea that he uses vomit as a weapon and lives his life as a human garbage pail kid (we've only seen it on screen, never off). Isabelle Adjani is incredible as she has a full body epileptic seizure while giving birth to the creature that she later has sex with. The scene where vomit pours from the sides of her neck and she spins out of control is captivating, as an array of bodily fluids ooze from between her legs is very traumatic and anxiety ridden. 

Cucumbers need love too

 The ending was influenced by an old Tales From the Crypt comic called "The Switch" were an old man is never good enough for his hot girlfriend and keeps getting plastic surgery to look like someone else, though it might be a coincidence I see a slight homage.

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