Parents' Guide to Presence

This simple, elegantly told ghost story—in which the camera takes the ghost's point of view—relies on vivid characters and emotional situations, suffering only from a somewhat thin climax. Since his 1989 debut with sex, lies, and videotape, director Steven Soderbergh has continued to find innovative ways to tell stories, whether they be creative or technical, and he does it again with Presence. The simple idea of telling the story from the literal point of view of the ghost—although it does require many long, elaborate tracking shots—is highly effective. And, since viewers are just eavesdropping on the Paynes, we only pick up bits and pieces of what's really going on.

But screenwriter David Koepp (who previously worked with Soderbergh on Kimi) manages to make these pieces add up to a bigger picture; we feel we know this family. Tyler eventually comes to seem less heroic than he initially looks, Chloe starts to reveal bits of iffy behavior of her own, and Chris privately confesses doubts and pain that he keeps from his family. Presence falters in deciding to use an antagonist to wrap things up; the idea feels underdeveloped and a bit rushed, breaking the spell. But the movie pulls itself back together with a powerful final moment, sending you out into the world, spine a-tingling.