The legendary filmmaker’s experimental psychological thriller is the tale of a dysfunctional family – led by parents played by Lucy Liu and This Is Us star Chris Sullivan – reckoning with their teenage daughter’s (Callina Liang) belief that their new home is haunted by her best friend, who recently died in suspicious circumstances. Soderbergh, ever the maverick, films the drama from a fixed, handheld perspective, forcing the viewer to observe their lives in the same way the ghost would.
Before things start going bump in the night, the first half of Presence is likely to confound many, taking the shape of a stripped-down character drama, shot in a way designed to make us feel like a fly on the wall, buzzing around the home at will. It’s unsurprising that Liu has likened the experience of watching the movie to that of a starkly intimate reality TV show.
She explained to Zavvi: “The camera is very voyeuristic, giving the audience a front row seat to the ins and outs of this family. It helps strip back the facade of their lives, as you see it play out like a reality show, witnessing who they really are beyond how they want themselves to be seen, and understanding the more intimate reasons why they do or don’t get along.
“You never see them leave the house, and if you see them on the phone, you never know who they’re talking to. I don’t watch any reality shows, but I think this gets to the feeling of what they can represent – it forms an intimate bond between the characters and the audience, whether they like them or not!”
Soderbergh is no stranger to experimentation with new forms of filmmaking equipment; most recently, he’s attempted to use iPhones to shoot feature-length projects, giving a rougher edge which contrasts with the polished screenplays and A-list movie star performances. This usually means his actors have to re-learn the basics of screen acting on the job, and this shoot was no exception.
Sullivan explained to Zavvi: “The biggest learning curve was the perspective from which the camera was operating, and the idea that there would be no edits, cuts or close ups – everything was from that fixed position. Steven shot on a camera with a 14mm wide lens, which gives a 180-degree view of a room, meaning if you were in a scene, you were always on camera.
“At the end of the first day, I was trying to figure out how this was all going to work logistically; it’s a specific vision, and realistically, I’ll probably never work like this again. Steven doesn’t have many monitors on set, but I needed him to show me what he was looking at, as I didn’t understand how I was going to appear onscreen – it took that to grasp why he was just following us around the house with a camera.”
This is hard enough for an established actor, but for a first-time performer like Eddy Maday – who plays teenage son Tyler – the challenge was even more intense.
He told us: “In film school, you get coverage opportunities, so if you mess up a line you can go back and retake it, as well as getting the chance to shoot from a different character’s perspective. But here, when the camera starts rolling, you have to make it work; if you mess up the take or screw up a line, then everybody’s take is messed up.
“It meant that you always had to get to where you needed to be emotionally when the camera started rolling, which was a lot of pressure, but it was a really valuable experience to learn from.”
Presence touches on many of-the-moment anxieties, but if you’re a parent, you’ll quickly recognise that the screenplay by David Koepp – best known for Jurassic Park– puts the audience through the ringer by having a family at breaking point right as a new threat comes into the children’s lives.
Liu continued: “When your kids are growing up, you’re also growing up because you’re learning so much from them – and the most terrifying part of the movie was discovering some of the more grounded horrors are perfectly plausible. Luckily, our kids in the movie make good choices, but as parents, Chris and I were watching how dysfunctional our characters’ relationships with the individual children were, and seeing that this story really emphasises how important communication is for a family.
“There’s a lot of secrets and fear, and not a lot of trust between the two parents, and I think if she felt she could confide in her husband, she’d perceive a way forward for them. Rebecca she feels like she’s on her own, and so does Chris, and this family home becomes a lonely place – I think they’re very lonely when they’re together.”
“The most terrifying aspect of this movie is that idea of disconnection”, Sullivan added. “The most profound of these is the disconnection of death, characterised by the presence living in this house, but to have that going on whilst being disconnected from your wife and children just makes it all the more terrifying.”
Without wading into spoiler territory for developments beyond the opening act, the emergence of the presence leads daughter Chloe (Liang) to confront both past demons and a new, physical threat in her home. The actress explained to Zavvi, without giving anything away, why this story might have a painful resonance for teenage girls and young women.
She said: “Chloe is at a very sensitive age where she’s still trying to figure out herself, and this is happening during an intense period of life where she’s still attempting to deal with her trauma. When you’re damaged and trying to find yourself, you’re more vulnerable than ever.
“A lot of things happen to her throughout the story that I hope a lot of girls don’t have to relate to, but I think a lot can, and this sheds light on that.”
Her trauma is exacerbated by meeting her brother’s new friend Ryan (West Mulholland), a mysterious bad boy who takes an immediate, intense interest after hearing that she believes her home is haunted.
Mulholland is tasked with keeping the threat grounded whilst getting into a disturbed headspace, where it’s not immediately apparent whether he’s a threat or just a teenager with severe mental health issues. It’s, thankfully, divorced quite considerably from the actor’s own life, but he still had to look towards the personal to make the performance work.
He explained: “I think Steven and David laid the groundwork beautifully for these characters, so we could jump in and find the areas where they can connect with us in our own lives, allowing us to tap into them even though they’re really hurt. I think the bond between my character and Chloe was easy to build realistically because people always need someone to rely on when going through a traumatic period, so they don’t feel like they’re alone.
“This is a very isolating movie, but it’s ultimately about people needing to find each other and rely on the people they need to lean on. Having that support network is the best medicine.”
Presence is released in UK cinemas on 24th January.Shop all things film at Zavvi.
