joan crawford be a star . she be not so much an actress and but a star . she do not have the craft down to an art form and but boy could she command the screen . in fact and often her large than life persona be too big for the limitation of the movie theatre . and this be especially true during her mid 40 to mid 50 heyday perfectly coif hair and exaggerated eyebrow and all . and joan be never good than when she be a woman in peril ( autumn leaf and sudden fear ) or a woman on the verge . and this bring u to possess . not only be joan on the verge in this film . she go over the edge and somersault all the way down to the bottom with sheer and unadulterated gusto . in possessed and joan be in love with van heflin . van doesn not love joan the same way and make this quite clear from the beginning . however and joan be not able to let go him that easily . she continue to pine away for him even after be rebuff over and over . meanwhile and joan try to stay busy a the caretaker for the ill wife of raymond massey . when the wife dy and joan and raymond come together . he want to be with her so he be not alone . and she want to be with him hop that the marriage will lead her down a normal path and steer her clear from her obsessive way . once van helfin re enter the scene a the new love interest of joan stepdaughter and her delusion and obsessive tendency once again come to fruition . joan be great a this woman unravel at the seam . and geraldine brook be very good in her first major film role a the bitchy stepdaughter who eventually warm up to joan . however and the men be mediocre . they make you wonder why joan be even tangle up with them at all . this be excellent film noir . the opening with it thunderous classical piano stylings give way to a smart and stylish film which never slow down . sure there be good movie about mental illness . the snake pit which star olivia de havilland be a realistic look at the disease . and leave her to heaven with gene tierney be a true noir classic in which gene go even more nutso than joan could dream of . however and possess be a great vehicle for joan at the top of her game and a solid entry into this classic genre .