Presence (2024)
Steven Soderbergh’s Presence is visually creative and tries hard to engage with the audience’s emotions, giving the film a different approach to the haunted house genre. But the courageous choices that are made don’t always work quite the way they should have.
The story is about Chloe (Callina Liang), a teenager who is grieving the loss of her best friend. With her family, which is highly fractured, Chloe moves into a new home. It isn’t long before Chloe starts to feel a mysterious presence in the house. This presence becomes our perspective throughout the film. We literally watch all of the events from that point of view. This way to tell the story is intriguing on one level, but it creates a sense that we are detached from what is happening, which occasionally tends to undermine the intended emotional core of the narrative.
The focus of Presence is the exploration of grief, memory, and the dysfunction of this family through a supernatural lens. Soderbergh’s decision to make the ghost’s point of view the frame for the story is a courageous one. It gives us a perspective that makes us feel that we are always everywhere in the house. This perspective leads to the viewer experiencing intimacy and isolation at the same time. The camera glides around the house through the scenes as though we are an unseen observer. This technique has been used in other movies, like Robert Wise’s movie The Haunting. Although, in Presence, it has a more experimental edge to it. This gives the film an eerie voyeuristic feeling but, unfortunately, ends up sacrificing some clarity about the narrative and undermines our emotional engagement. The very minimalist horror of Presence rejects the traditional scares and prefers a lingering unease. But this makes the whole experience too subdued and left me wishing there was more tension.
The performances of the actors are uneven. Callina Liang’s portrayal of Chloe is sensitive and captures her vulnerability and quiet strength. Lucy Liu, as the overbearing mother, brings some gravitas to her role, but she struggles with a script that occasionally heads off into melodrama. Chris Sullivan gives a grounded performance as the well-meaning but frustrated father. Eddie Maday’s portrayal of Tyler, Chloe’s ambitious brother who is constantly dismissive of Chloe’s experiences, feels very one-dimensional. The dysfunctional dynamics of this family have a lot of potential. But there isn’t much nuance and ends up not fully resonating.
Presence is certainly visually striking. The cinematography, which was done by Soderbergh under his pseudonym Peter Andrews, uses muted tones and long takes that encourage an atmosphere of quiet reflection. The production design carefully and subtly combines modern and historical elements, which reflect how timeless the themes are. Symbolism is everywhere. For example, there are the recurring mirrors and empty hallways that evoke the themes of reflection and absence. But these sometimes feel too heavy-handed rather than being a natural and organic part of the environment.
The soundtrack is quite minimal. When there is one, it is effective. The majority of the film relies on ambient noise and subtle sound design to heighten our unease. The minimalist approach to sound fits well with the overall restrained aesthetic. But it may leave you underwhelmed due to it not cueing you to dramatic high points. As far as editing goes, Soderbergh has chosen to make each scene one long take that suddenly ends with a black screen before going on to the next scene. This adds to our ghostly perspective, but this fragmentation disrupts the pacing, particularly in the middle part of the film, which is pretty slow.
Presence is rigorously focused on grief and introspection rather than the conventional horror thrills that occur in most of this genre. So there is no doubt that this movie is one of a few unique movies that stand apart from the genre. But it also means we notice the film’s flaws more easily. The slow pace and the lack of resolution might frustrate you if you are expecting a more traditional story arc.
So Presence is a mixed experience. It’s an experiment that does succeed in creating an unsettling atmosphere. But it fails to give us a cohesive emotional experience. If you are someone who likes a movie that takes artistic risks, you might appreciate it. But given its uneven execution, it may leave you unsatisfied. If you are a fan of Soderbergh’s films or appreciate haunting visuals and the courageous motivation of the filmmakers, you might find it worth watching.
A final note: if you have seen the trailers for Presence, you will expect a full-on horror movie. But what you see in the trailers is not what you get. In my opinion, the trailers misrepresent the movie. They might get people to the cinema, but if you go and see it on the basis of the trailers, you will be disappointed with what is ultimately an unmemorable film.