Let’s be perfectly blunt: Obsessed is a terrible movie. While I would have never guessed that this pathetic excuse for a thriller would be worse than Friday the 13th or The Last House on the Left remakes, careful consideration after seeing the film have convinced me that, indeed, it is much, much worse. Let’s get the plot out of the way. In clichéd and repetitive plotting, the film tells the story of a husband and wife torn apart by the nefarious acts of a psychotic home-wrecker. Derek (Idris Elba), a corporate manager with a wife and child, is preyed-upon and blackmailed by the new office temp, Lisa, played by Ali Larter. Derek, we’re told, is a good man and a good husband, so Lisa’s depraved sexual advancements don’t work, which ultimately forces her to take the battle to his home, where she attempts to kidnap his kid and harass his wife, Sharon (Beyonce Knowles). Marketed as a newer, sexier Fatal Attraction, the film fails to arouse even the most tepid of thrills and lacks any sense of drama. Simply put, it’s one of the stalest thrillers ever put on celluloid. Director Steve Shill, working from a script by Lakeview Terrace scribe David Loughery, plays it safe and relies on an overabundance of clichés to keep the story moving forward. Perhaps the filmmakers thought Larter’s overt sexuality could save the film, but her dubious acting talents, unfortunately, reveal her character to be nothing more than a cipher—a character devoid of insight, motivation or menace. Without a formidable adversary to keep us hooked into what little plot there is, the film gets bogged down in stale melodrama. As for the way the two main leads are portrayed, Shill and Loughery offer up nothing even remotely interesting about either of them. Elba is given so little to do, that in times of crisis he reverts to hand-wringing histrionics. As for Beyonce, well, the less said of her “acting” the better. And yet, despite the amateurish quality of the film—the cinematography and acting are barely suitable for a television movie-of-the-week—Obsessed could have quickly disappeared into the ether and been forgotten. Until, that is, we get to a crucial scene in a restaurant between Derek and his wife. It is during this crucial scene that Obsessed morphs from derivative filler to offensive shit. In the scene, Sharon takes Derek out to dinner for his birthday and gives him an ultimatum: she will take him back if he promises to give her the keys to the new Mercedes. Think about that for a minute or two. The woman blackmails her husband (who has does nothing wrong incidentally) so she can have his car. It was always apparent throughout the film that Sharon was a weak character, but to actually include a scene where material wealth wins her back is an insult to all women. What a shame that Beyonce would agree to produce and act in a film that depicts a character as hateful, callous and stereotypical as Sharon. Not only that, but Obsessed has the gall to portray Sharon as a long-suffering martyr. Please. If the filmmakers can’t take these characters seriously, than why would an audience? Perhaps they thought the ending, which is a prolonged fight between Lisa and Sharon, would enthrall audiences in all its exploitation-like theatrics and one-liners. Unfortunately, the final fight is ridiculous and boring, rendering it useless as entertainment. To cite British film critic Mark Kermode, everyone involved in Obsessed should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Richard Saad
© Cinephile Magazine, 2009