It's often said that the definition of insanity is repeating your actions and expecting a different outcome. That is literally the best description of Phillip, the protagonist in "Possum."
Phillip, a disgraced puppeteer, returns to his childhood home to confront his demons and his stepfather, a grungy, cruel man who taunts Phillip in every scene. The landscape, both inside and out, is dreary, repetitive, and barren. There is no variety in Phillip's life, nor in his mind. Everything is bleak. Everything is as it has always been.
From the start of the film the symbolism shows you exactly what to expect when you first meet Phillip. The balloons against the wallpaper in a child's room is a brief but succinct recap of the major trauma of Phillip's life, and the character does not disappoint when he appears. Clearly a traumatized and broken man, Phillip spends the entire film trying to rid himself of his baggage, which again, is quite literal in the overnight bag he carries with him everywhere and is always trying to destroy and leave behind.
Just when you think, right, he's done it, the next scene shows the bag and its contents still with him. At times I wondered if these sequences were a dream, or if they were meant literally and that something is really haunting him, and the answer, i believe, is that it's both.
Like 'Spider", "Possum" is about madness eating away at us. No matter what we do to rid ourselves of it, we are unable. Its omnipresent, it is silent (the sparse dialogue is exactly true to this idea), it is unrelenting and it may very well win.
Harris' facial expressions and body language are almost painful to view; so adept is he at conveying the excruciating loneliness of losing one's mind. It's a brilliant performance.
I've read comments expressing dismay about the ending and lack of resolution. Firstly, the ending is shocking and came as a surprise to me. While I felt the duality of man themes expressed throughout (Harris' trench coat soaked with black mud on one side, and spotless on the other, was a good visual for that), I was focused on that duality being Phillip's). As for the lack of resolution for Phillip, there very often just is none. People go mad, people fall between the cracks, people disappear into their trauma and sometimes they are not saved. Bleak, yes, but true.
I've watched this twice in the past 24 hours and I'll likely watch it many more times. If you've ever been broken or traumatized, you may recognize some of yourself in Phillip. If you've ever known or loved, but never understood, a broken person, you may find this to be an incredibly empathic experience.
I can't rate it higher than 10, but I would if I could. Brilliance.
Phillip, a disgraced puppeteer, returns to his childhood home to confront his demons and his stepfather, a grungy, cruel man who taunts Phillip in every scene. The landscape, both inside and out, is dreary, repetitive, and barren. There is no variety in Phillip's life, nor in his mind. Everything is bleak. Everything is as it has always been.
From the start of the film the symbolism shows you exactly what to expect when you first meet Phillip. The balloons against the wallpaper in a child's room is a brief but succinct recap of the major trauma of Phillip's life, and the character does not disappoint when he appears. Clearly a traumatized and broken man, Phillip spends the entire film trying to rid himself of his baggage, which again, is quite literal in the overnight bag he carries with him everywhere and is always trying to destroy and leave behind.
Just when you think, right, he's done it, the next scene shows the bag and its contents still with him. At times I wondered if these sequences were a dream, or if they were meant literally and that something is really haunting him, and the answer, i believe, is that it's both.
Like 'Spider", "Possum" is about madness eating away at us. No matter what we do to rid ourselves of it, we are unable. Its omnipresent, it is silent (the sparse dialogue is exactly true to this idea), it is unrelenting and it may very well win.
Harris' facial expressions and body language are almost painful to view; so adept is he at conveying the excruciating loneliness of losing one's mind. It's a brilliant performance.
I've read comments expressing dismay about the ending and lack of resolution. Firstly, the ending is shocking and came as a surprise to me. While I felt the duality of man themes expressed throughout (Harris' trench coat soaked with black mud on one side, and spotless on the other, was a good visual for that), I was focused on that duality being Phillip's). As for the lack of resolution for Phillip, there very often just is none. People go mad, people fall between the cracks, people disappear into their trauma and sometimes they are not saved. Bleak, yes, but true.
I've watched this twice in the past 24 hours and I'll likely watch it many more times. If you've ever been broken or traumatized, you may recognize some of yourself in Phillip. If you've ever known or loved, but never understood, a broken person, you may find this to be an incredibly empathic experience.
I can't rate it higher than 10, but I would if I could. Brilliance.