‘Existence’ review: Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp tell a uniquely thrilling ghost story

What if ghosts could tell their own stories but couldn’t speak? This is a convincing premise present. Director Stephen Soderbergh reunites with like Screenwriter David Koepp has created a very funny, charming, slightly creepy, but ultimately sweet film about an unconventional haunted house story.

It all starts with a dazzling opening shot.

The camera is a character present

present Opens in a house at sunrise. The interior remains dark, and the camera rotates from the kitchen to the hallway, up the stairs, through the bedrooms, and back again. Even in the dark, there’s a slight fisheye lens effect, turning the corners of the house into ominous shadows. The movement of the camera does not imply a passive viewer, but a perspective and a presence.

The next scene is established in daylight. Exist (like us) as a luxury real estate agent (julia fox) arrived and showed the Payne family the space. Mother Rebecca (Lucy Liu) is immediately convinced, gushing that the location means her golden boy Tyler (newcomer Eddie Mady) can follow him in the best school district as a swimming champion trajectory. Meanwhile, dad Chris (this is usChris Sullivan fears the move will cause difficulties for their other child, Chloe (BaseLiang Jialin), who recently lost her best friend to a suspected drug overdose.

The inner conflict between Louie’s suffocating boy mom and Sullivan’s sincerely vulnerable girl dad plays out in both passive-aggressive and outright bickering fashion, all to the wandering eye of a mute witness. But the creature’s identity, name, and gender are unclear for much of the film, which focuses most on Chloe, alone with her grief—until she isn’t.

The point of view in horror films is primarily used to inspire fear in the audience, suggesting that an evil force or killer is sizing up potential victims. But here, the camera movement doesn’t convey any malevolence, in part because the presence tends to hide in Chloe’s closet, as if it’s frightened rather than meant to scare. Kudos to Soderbergh, who served as both the film’s editor and cinematographer. The long time it takes to move from room to room after conflict and dialogue lends a pulsating vulnerability to characters we can’t see or hear but still understand. I was in awe as the camera panned from one wounded family member to another, and I could feel the longing to be seen, to join in, to scream. present It’s remarkable how much can be told through its moving photography alone.

present’Extraordinary cast

Of course, all of Soderbergh’s brilliant cinematography might mean nothing without a cast capable of grasping the concept. In fact, if present It was not nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

The film required actors to perform long takes and sometimes involved complex choreography. Among them, they need to drop the lines randomly on the camera. In addition to this, people’s behavior will also quietly change with the presence of existence. Some people in the house began to sense this, and their eyes had to connect to the camera in a way that was present but not concrete. In this way, we believe they are seeing what appears to be nothing, as the camera never leaves the perspective of existence to reveal the perspective of the living. Liang has the heaviest lift here, as she comes into most direct contact with the ghost, sometimes feeling it but also realizing its ability to move things in her room. Sharing this discovery with her family only leads to a fight and more violent paranormal activity.

For her part, Ms. Liu is as ruthless as a corporate shark with a cold sense of right and wrong, delivering a shockingly candid monologue to her giggling son that had the audience laughing. Sullivan is her foil, playing a human teddy bear desperate to save his daughter from the despair he struggles to understand. Madi plays a cruel jock with no patience for his weird sister, while Liang carries the bulk of the film, balancing ghostly invasion scenes, musings on grief, and hanging out with “the coolest guy in school.” (“Mulholland Drive West”) A budding secret romance. my so called life model). Together they feel like a real family, and the dialogue flows and feels natural, rooted in authenticity, so the uncanny hits all the more intensely.

present is a welcome genre shift

Soderbergh has performed in many genres heist movie like ocean 11 and Lucky Logan, Psychological thrillers, e.g. irrational and likeespionage operator out of control, and sexy comedy Magic Mike Trilogy. Although technically present It’s a pretentious horror movie, and Soderbergh doesn’t feel called upon to make it scary. In fact, the house is not creepy at all. Sure, the music is filled with plaintive instrumentation that’s reminiscent of 1940s gothic horror films, but it clashes with the girly-pop aesthetic of Chloe’s bedroom, effectively emphasizing how out of place the presence here is.

Thanks to Kopp, who like Soderbergh transitions from one genre to another, the script involves moving from jurassic park arrive Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny, My personal favorite is the dark heroine comedy death becomes her. But his most relevant work present is seriously underestimated The stirring of echoes, A 1999 horror film in which Kevin Bacon plays a man who has just awakened the ability to communicate with the dead. Now, present Not overtly creepy like that the stirring of echoesin that sense, a more traditional ghost story. But they share similar feelings in Kopp’s carefully constructed characters and final act twist. Basically, his thumbprint is clear.

Popular Science employs genre conventions such as poltergeist activity: moving objects when the living are not looking or soiling a room before their eyes. But thanks to Soderbergh’s first point-of-view shot, these actions feel less intended to scare people than to convey a silent frustration. Likewise, when psychic Lisa (Natalie Woolams-Torres) is introduced into the family, she looks nothing like you’d expect. This supernatural communicator is not a frail white woman in black voodoo garb, but an athletic woman of color in warm flannel and jeans, as if she had just come out of her job as a barista or a kindergarten teacher It’s the same as coming out of the middle. These subtle adjustments give a sense of exciting possibilities presentpromising audiences that the film won’t play by the rules, so the film can go anywhere. Everywhere it goes is not only surprising, but also full of sentimentality.

in the end, present is an extraordinary combination of clever concept and masterful execution. In the wrong hands, clumsy or flashy cinematography could ruin Ghost’s characterization. Soderbergh’s steady hands in his performance are so intentional that you can almost feel the expression of an invisible face. The actors expertly establish believable and complex family bonds while effortlessly pulling off elaborate blocking. Popular Science’s final scene is both tense and tender. It all collides into a fantastic ghost story that’s easily one of the best movies of the year.

Too bad you have to wait until next year to see it.

present The film received its international premiere review at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on January 17, 2025.