Presence is a supernatural thriller about a family of four that moves into a large suburban home inhabited by the titular presence. As they navigate their own interpersonal issues they butt up against the spirit at various times culminating in the unraveling of its mystery.
Lucy Liu as Rebecca the matriarch is the biggest name in the cast and has the biggest presence, its a treat to see her in something this intimate and grounded given her recent cinematic offerings were Red One and Shazam 2 she's able to really stretch here and do some subtle, interesting stuff and the character has some darkness to it. Chris Sullivan as Chris Rebecca's husband is good but he struggles a bit with finding a groove and matching the tone, the same is true of Eddy Maday as Tyler, neither of them are bad but their calibration is off. Callina Liang as Chloe fairs better and effectively grounds and gives emotional stakes to the story and her scenes with Sullivan are his best. The big sore thumb of it all is West Mulholland as Ryan, partly a result of the absurd dialogue he has to speak but also he seems totally ignorant of the tone. The performance has no subtlety, comes across like a mustache twirling villain more appropriate as a bully in a 80's teen comedy than in this. His casting severely limits how far the film can go because of the nature of the role and how flatly and obviously he plays it.
No surprise coming from Soderbergh, visually it has some flair, shot from the POV of the spirit, the camera floats around the house(and is constrained within it) and cuts in-and-out based on it's own whim resulting in not only a cool look but a unique way we get to know the family and it's situation. The soundtrack is subtle and eerie, the location(its all in the house) effective. Soderbergh does what he does best, makes a pretty good movie fast and on the cheap.
An engaging distraction with a heavy that drags down much of its potential.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Rent It.
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