Steven Soderbergh, for the last few years, has been playing with the idea that “less is more”, presenting innovative concepts and filmmaking styles with seemingly minimal budgets and resources compared to his past films. Presence takes the unique approach to a ghost film of setting its scenes in long takes, completely from the ghost’s perspective. This could’ve threatened to become a gimmick within minutes, only Presence does the exact opposite — it expands to become so much more than how it begins, and keeps improving as it goes on.
The main reason the film sticks is the growing focus on the family drama, which is delivered with originality and poignance. All four of the family members and their dynamics pull you in, with the father (Chris Sullivan, in a career-best and movie-best performance) having a deep understanding and connection to his daughter as she has more interactions with the supernatural, while scolding his son for his treatment of his sister and others. Meanwhile, the mother (Lucy Liu) is unsure how to get to her daughter’s level after what she’s been through, but also has a close and deep bond with her son, despite his bullyish behavior. All of this weaves into the mystery of who this ghost we’re experiencing the film through actually is, and how it interacts increasingly with the setting.
The look of the film gives the same sort of contained, claustrophobic darkness Soderbergh created in Unsane and Kimi. The editing is sometimes distracting (too many cuts to black to indicate jumps in time), but above the engaging creative swing is what’s most important: we’re brought to deeply care about each family member despite their flaws, and their interactions feel emotionally earned and realistic. The film’s final act culminates in an unforgettable moment of disbelief and heartbreak, that makes the short runtime feel even more profound and the concept completely pay off.
4/5
Review by: Gal Balaban