When I first saw Possession I hated it. There comes a point where I’m no longer watching a character but an actor who keeps going long after the director should have cut. I’m okay saying this is different, but I had a hard time saying it was good. I rewatched the film again 10 years later, having seen more of Żulawski’s work. It isn’t that different from Eraserhead, where the world itself has gone mad and everyone is just reacting to it. Some are fighting the new natural order while others accept it, and it’s the crazy ones that are having a better time.
The film is best known for Isabelle Adjani’s freakout in a subway station, made up of three long, handheld shots. It’s become so iconic in recent years that you notice other actresses doing a similar thing, like 2018’s Climax, 2024’s The First Omen and Immaculate.
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