I sat in stunned silence, hardly able to breathe, unable to move, emotions bubbling to the surface, tears just a breath away.
I'll get to the film in a moment. This is why I love cinema so much. It's more than just a film, it's an experience, it's a way of life. I love being intoxicated by a film, whether I'm stunned into silence, quietly (or maybe not so) sobbing, nearly screaming or bouncing off the ceiling with joy. When I need the credits to breathe and start processing what I've just seen, when I can't wait to start talking about the film, when I'm thinking about seeing it again before I've even left the auditorium, that's it. That's the magic.
I feel lucky to have caught the new film 'Presence' by Steven Soderbergh at an Odeon 'Screen Unseen' - a preview before it's release this Friday 24th January.
As always, I won't give any spoilers but I think I can say this really turns the haunted house story upside down in an amazing way. I may say this a few times. I'm stunned.
What can I actually say which won't give anything away? A family move into a house and sense that they're not alone. The family dynamics are so cleverly interwoven with what is happening and it just draws you in. I think I even forgot I was in the cinema I was so involved and absorbed.
There isn't a lot of music in the film, it's quiet, it needs to be and that works so well, but when it is used, it is very powerful. I didn't just hear it, I felt it.
I'm not sure I've ever really felt a film so much. The emotion, the 'presence' just leapt off the screen and grabbed me. Amazing.
Even if I was giving spoilers, I don't think I could or would describe the ending. It has to be seen. It gave me chills, I believe I gasped, I can't stop thinking about it and it will stay with me for a long time.
It's a beautiful, haunting, emotional and overwhelming amazing experience of a film. Please go and see it. I loved it.
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