POSSESSION

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Directors: Simon Sandquist, Joel Bergvall
Screenplay: Michael Petroni
Adapted by Jae-yong Gwak from a screenplay
by Won-mi Byun and Min-ho Song
Gellar's role: Jessica Shelburn
Co-starring: Lee Pace, Michael Landes
US Release Date: 9 March 2010
Length: 85 minutes
Genre: Drama

The tagline is: How far will you go for love?.

The story was adapted from Jungdok, a Korean film (marketed in the US under the name "Addicted"). Gellar's character (Jessica) marries one of two brothers. She marries the "good" brother, although it is clear from the beginning that she and the "bad" brother have feelings for one another. As fate would have it, Bad Bro, who has decided that he is not welcome in the house of Good Bro anymore, decides to leave. Jessica phones Good Bro who heads home immediately. In the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge, the good brother and the bad brother literally collide.

Slideshow - Sarah Michelle Gellar in Possession

Both survive but are in comas. When Bad Bro wakes up, he professes to have the memories of Good Brother, and to be in love with Jessica.

The film is, at times, choppy and disjointed and could have used a crisper edit. The tale seems designed to pose the question: Can you teach an old dog new tricks?, and there is literally an old dog. The answer to that question depends on the ending, and the answer provided by the alternate ending on the DVD is much better answer than the one suggested by the story's 'official outcome.

Ro Smith blogged: "All in all, Possession is a much better film than it has any right to be. It will probably be forgotten in the mists of films that went straight to DVD, and that’s a shame. It’s particularly a shame for Geller, who’s really proving her mettle in a quality performance that almost no one will ever see. If you like Lee Pace, or share my taste for beautiful men engaging in understated angst, this film is genuinely worth your time. If you like psychological thrillers, you may enjoy it, too. In the game of suspense films that mess with your head about personal identity, it’s no Primal Fear, but it’s certainly worth a go."

Roxana Hadadi writing for Polygon said: "Watching Possession feels like sitting at a restaurant next to a couple mid-fight and trying not to eavesdrop as they too-loudly lob accusations at each other over appetizers, fume silently through entrees, weepingly apologize to one another while sharing a dessert, and eventually leave separately, maybe returning to different lovers, when the ordeal is done. It doesn’t seem like horror at first, but Zulawski is a master at crafting tension, and incrementally introducing details that add up to a grander, more agonizing whole. The result is that Possession is simultaneously incredibly performative and disquietingly intimate, and its horrors come not just from a character called The Creature but also from the realization that sometimes the person you love most in the world might not care for you much at all.

The soundtrack is available from Apple Music. Highlights are two tracks by The Stiff Twins, and SAVING MY LOVE sung by Josefina Andersson. (Andersson is from Stora Lappträsk, a small village in the north of Sweden.) All the music for the film was written by Andreas Alfredsson and Christian Sandquist.

CAST

• Sarah Michelle Gellar - Jess
• Lee Pace - Roman
• Michael Landes - Ryan
• Tuva Novotny - Casey
• Chelah Horsdal - Miranda
• Dhirendra - Dr. Rajan
• Paul Jarrett - psychiatrist
• William B Davis - Dr. Creane
• Veena Sood - Dr. Katz
• Peter Bryant - Detective Mills
• David James Lewis - Father David
• Drew Scott - Chris
• Jörgen Sandell - detective #2
• Donna Yamomoto - nurse
• Angela Moore - ICU nurse
• Michael Wassco - nurse
• Steve Archer - emergency doctor
• Suzanne Bastien - registrar
• Mark Louie - paramedic #1
• Michael Jonsson - paramedic #2
• Nancy Bell - woman in park
• Roger Alford - man in park
• Jan Box - mail delivery person

JUNGDOK (Addicted)

The film on which Possession was based.

Directed by: Young-hoon Park
Written by: Won-mi Byun
Starring:
with: Byung-hun Lee as younger brother Dae-jin,
Mi-yeon Lee as Eun-soon,
and Eol Lee as older brother Ho-jin
Release date: 18 October 2002 (South Korea)

Jungdok translates into English as "Deep Sorrow". The younger brother refers to himself as "addicted" in reference to his auto racing, and that became the title of the US release.

In the South Korean version of the story, the younger brother is not an ex-con, he's an ex-Marine with a thing for racing cars, and he is never a threatening character. Also unlike Possession, the younger bro never had a relationship with Eun-soon outside of his own mind prior to big bro's death. So instead of wondering whether it might be safe to cohabit with the surviving brother, Eun-soon wonders in the end whether it makes any difference that her new lover lied to her.

In the workshop, Eun-Soon finds out the truth by tearing away a Marlboro poster (an example of intrusive American culture) on the wall, behind which is hidden a journal and some photos. The poster likely belonged to the younger brother, who was a heavy smoker. The older brother did not smoke, and the poster might have given away much of the film's ending, but for the fact that younger brother had quit smoking to pull off his deception.

All of the many beer cans seen in the film are Budwiser, and one wonders why. One character crumples a Bud can and tosses it casually into a field.

Manfred Selzer wrote on Asian Movie Web: "There are movies that just silently vanished into some corner of a DVD store without anyone noticing them, until finally someone comes across them by accident and realizes that this film deserves much more attention by viewers than it did. 'Addicted' is a good example. It starts off as a nice little romantic movie, until the story eventually dives into more fantastic realms...Still, the question remains: Is this really the wandering of a soul we witness here, or is Dae-jin maybe just thinking to be Ho-jin. There are many hints, that he has in fact become Ho-jin, as Dae-jin suddenly proves to be exceptionally talented as a craftsman or cook. Moreover, he tells Eun-su many secrets, that were kept between her and her husband only. Even when Dae-jin awakens out of his coma, the first thing he does is looking for a mirror, which shows us, that he has to assure himself of his own identity."

JUNGDOK is visually impressive. The director frames scenes like old paintings, making excellent use of colour filters. The television in the living room is puzzlingly prominent in several scenes, is never on, and seems aimed at the end of the sofa.

TRAILER

JUNGDOK can be streamed on DailyMotion, and is available on DVD.