Possession: "Everything is a mythical, cosmic battle between faith and chance"

This weekend I was shown (thanks Curtis) a very odd, overly symbolic and relentlessly intense film (my favorite) by the name of “Possession”. The film is about the psychological horrors of divorce which are manifested here in graphic delirium. My friend who showed me the film admitted to being confused but gave me some back ground. Apparently the director/screenplay writer was in the midst of a terrible divorce and it was rumored that the lead actress Isabelle Adjani attempted suicide after watching herself in the film. I watched the film all the way through. It's story line has little to keep up with it's mostly visually and emotionally challenging. Mark played by Sam Neill is a secret agent who returns home from working to find his child alone and his wife leaving him. She admits that she is having an affair but when he goes to the most likely source he finds out that this guy hasn’t been sleeping with her either.  He’s puzzled by who she could be with so he hires a private investigator. Then the fun starts.

A particularly disturbing scene in the film is when she is trying to explain to her husband what happened to her and where she is between visits back to their apartment. She explains that there was a battle going on inside of her of two sisters with their hands at each other’s throat waiting for one to die. One sister is “Sister Faith” and the other is “Sister Chance”. While at the subway she miscarried “Sister Faith” (basically took a swan dive into crazy) who she now has to protect in a private location.  All that’s left she explains is “Sister Chance”. The result of “Sister Faith” being aborted/miscarried later turns out to be a sort of tentacle clad monster epitomizing all her madness, anguish, self hate, lust, loss of faith and innocence. She feeds it people she kills that find out about it. In another shocking part of the film Mark discovers her fornicating with the monster and all she can say when she sees her husband is a breathy “Almost, Almost, Almost” as she nears climax. 

My friend said he thinks this movie is about her trying to get a decent orgasm. My other friend who was there said that it seems to be symbolism for the plight of the modern woman. Those guys are so silly but they both have a point. I’ve been pondering over this movie every since. There are other elements in the movie that I found fascinating as well like that the monster later morphs into a spitting image of the husband and the school teacher that cares for the child while everyone else is busy going bat shit crazy is the spitting image of the wife. At the end the new version of the husband promptly seeks out the school teacher. Giving the viewer a “rebound” affect as if we are about to see the beginning to the madness that we have just watched.

As a recently divorced person told me “Marriage” (I think he means among young people) is mostly about fantasy (faith that everything will be fine). So maybe in the beginning they take a “Chance” based on “Faith” and as an unhappy reality becomes ever more cemented around the couple perhaps “Faith” and Chance” start opposing each other.  Do they take a “Chance” on leaving or do they have “Faith” and ride out what may or may not be worth it. After the painful divorce, emotional catharsis and loss of “Rose tented glasses” a person may decide to date again. He or She finally feels renewed, they have their head in reality, and they know what they want now, right? Is this person really that different? And is this new person he or she is now attracted to completely different from their ex or are they at core the same in a new package. Similarly now the divorcee is again with “Chance” and “Faith” in the beginning of a new relationship. I added a little Skinny Puppy below for those that equate love with pain.

Any film that provides post viewing fat to chew on is most delicious to me even if it is depraved or disturbing. Yes my friends I do look into the Abyss from time to time it reminds me to remain in the light.


"Love" by Skinny Puppy