At its core, Possession is an account of a marriage falling apart told in a poetic fever dream. The film is a surreal and unsettling exploration of love, obsession, and madness, featuring powerful performances from its lead actors, Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill.
Isabelle Adjani’s Haunting Performance as Anna in Possession
I was enthralled by Adjani’s performance as Anna, whose behavior becomes increasingly erratic and unstable as she struggles with her own inner demons and the demands of marriage and motherhood. The movie opens with Anna telling her husband Mark (Neill), that she wants a divorce. Mark is confused and hurt, and he tries to win Anna back. He hires a private detective to follow Anna and eventually discovers that she is involved with a grotesque tentacled monster.
Anna and Mark slip into an intoxicating delirium, and it’s impossible to look away as they descend further into madness. Anna’s behavior becomes increasingly disturbed and erratic, and she murders several men to keep her sordid affair with the monster a secret. Mark desperately tries to break the creature’s spell on Anna. He even goes so far as to murder her human lover Heinrich (Heinz Bennent) and pin Anna’s crimes on him.
A Tragic End: The Collapse of Anna and Mark’s Marriage
Needless to say, Anna and Mark don’t make it in Possession. Their marriage deteriorates: they both become fugitives of the law, and Anna reveals that the creature has transformed into a doppelganger of Mark. Mark and Anna die in each other’s arms in a shower of police bullets, and Doppelganger Mark escapes to be with Doppelganger Anna, their son’s schoolteacher. It’s a confusing end to a confusing movie, but its themes are explored in a way that felt validating to me.
Once Possession was available on Shudder, I quickly became a member of its cult following. While revisiting the film repeatedly, I found myself muttering “same” to no one as Anna convulsed and thrashed about on screen.
Relating to Anna: Struggles with Independence and Marriage
I see a lot of myself in Anna. She’s independent to a fault, headstrong, and uncompromising, and there are days where “I feel nothing for no one!” And although my transgressions are minor compared to hers, I also fear that one day my spouse will decide they don’t like me anymore.
The Joys and Challenges of Marriage
I’m often told that marriage “looks good” on me. I’m always basking in the glow of my beloved B. (he/they), and I know that those who knew me during my sulking and moody adolescence breathed a sigh of relief when they came into my life. Our ten years together have brought me so much joy that I’m certain everyone is right.
But I wouldn’t be me, and I wouldn’t relate to Anna so much if I didn’t give it to you straight: marriage is fucking hard. And as many times as B. tells me I’m “easy to love,” at times I feel as erratic and repellent as Anna in Possession.
Marriage as a Cold War: Vulnerability and Enmeshment
Mark and Anna are at war with themselves and each other, and the Berlin Wall as a backdrop reminds us that at times marriage can feel like a Cold War. Marriage forces you to be vulnerable in ways you never knew were possible. (I can’t even imagine what fresh hell children will bring!) Being with someone long-term requires enmeshment that sometimes feels suffocating, and I often have to stop myself from pushing B. away.
The reveal of Mark’s doppelganger came as no surprise to me— in fact, it seemed like the natural conclusion. I too see fragments of my spouse in so many of my other loved ones, and although Anna desperately tried to push Mark away, she was bound to piece together a partner that was similar to him.
Navigating the Messiness of Long-Term Commitment
Marriage is messy, confusing, and complicated—and that’s just me complaining about our taxes. There are days when I don’t even like myself, where like Anna I am the “maker of my own evil,” and I expect B. will grow bored of my behavior and leave.
Even though B. denies the similarities, he is as committed to me as Mark is to Anna. They aren’t as possessive of my time and attention, and they may not be pin-my-crimes-on-my-lover-you-murdered committed, but like Mark, they fight like hell for our marriage and would do anything to make me happy.
Accepting Love and Overcoming Fears
As a wife, sometimes I find it difficult to accept B.’s unconditional love and push aside fears of him no longer liking me when I make mistakes. They put up with my pushing their boundaries on horror, and sometimes understand the nuances of a genre film better than I do. They immediately understood what Anna meant when she told Heinreich that he says “I” for her, while I’m still scratching my head.
Does B. say I for me? No. I am still fiercely independent and am capable of saying I when referring to myself. Are we one entity? Of course, and hopefully forever.