A SUCCESSFUL ASSET MANAGER, WHO HAS JUST RECEIVED A HUGE PROMOTION, IS BLISSFULLY HAPPY IN HIS CAREER AND IN HIS MARRIAGE. BUT A TEMP WORKER STARTS STALKING HIM, ALL THE THINGS HE’S WORKED SO HARD FOR ARE PLACED IN JEOPARDY.Obsessed is one of those movies best described as “a stylish thriller”: the characters are mostly young and gorgeous, with their white-collar gigs, designer duds, and fancy cars, and if there’s not much of substance to be found beneath those sleek, polished surfaces, well, who says a story must have a message to be entertaining? The comparisons to Fatal Attraction (with its jilted would-be lover going all psycho on the object of her, uh, affections) and Disclosure (with its reverse sexual harassment) are apt enough, but Obsessed is a little different. For starters, unlike the character played by Michael Douglas in Attraction, this film’s Derek Charles (Idris Elba) does little to encourage Lisa Sheridan (Ali Larter), the temp worker at his asset-management firm who gloms onto him like a lamprey sucking on its unwilling host; for another, Derek’s wife, Sharon (Beyonce Knowles), is no wallflower who stands idly and ignorantly by while her life is shredded by her hubby’s evasions and the increasingly crazed tactics of the woman who’s stalking him (it’s to the credit of director Steve Shill and screenwriter David Loughery that nothing whatsoever is made of the fact that Derek is black and Lisa is white). Still, the holes in the plot are big enough to drive several Mercedes sedans through. For one thing, Lisa’s fixation on Derek seems to come out of nowhere (if she has a past, we’re not told about it); what’s more, even if Derek has broken his deal with Sharon not to have any female assistants (she was once one herself), it seems mighty extreme for her to kick him out of the house for three months simply for not coming completely clean about his mostly-innocent dealings with Lisa. Still, the film manages to make the viewer feel Derek’s helpless desperation at being targeted by this manipulative nut job, and when Sharon finally confronts her family’s tormentor at the end (“You think you’re crazy? I’ll show you crazy!”), the result is silly but somehow satisfying. –Sam Graham
Stills from Obsessed (Click for larger image)
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March 5, 2010
#1
Derek Charles is a hard working man, employed as a asset manager in a private company. He is very happy with his beautiful wife, Sharon, and only son, and because of his hard work he just got a huge promotion. But suddenly he gets a temporary worker who is both attractive and smart, and Derek is understandably impressed with her and also finds himself physically drawn to her. However, this new girl is desperate to get close to him at any cost. “Obsessed”, is one of those movie I just couldn’t resist seeing. Beyonce and Idris Elba are great.”Obsessed”, is one of those movie I just couldn’t resist seeing. I liked it and it’s very entertaining.
March 5, 2010
#2
This movie was overall great!!! The suspense, the plot and the character of Lisa. Oh my gosh! I was on the edge of my seat when i went to see this! I absolutely loved the movie! I didn’t find any fault nor any scene that was boring or made me upset, i was entertained by it all! it got great when Sharon found out about Derrick’s secret and she started showing hard emotions! Lisa is just this psycho!!! oh my gosh!!! she was just freakin crazy! All i can say is forget which of the actors u like, the whole movie was excellent! I enjoyed it so much!!!! and i can’t wait to buy it! It would be nice to have a fullscreen version cuz i hate widescreen but watever, i’ll hav the movie!
March 5, 2010
#3
I thought this was a really good movie! It had a great storyline and great actors! It was awesome to see Scout Taylor-Compton from Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN make a cameo! Derek Charles has the perfect life, until he meets Lisa Sheridan who becomes completely obsessed with him and ruins his life. It started as friendly conversation in the elevator to Lisa trying to make out with him at the office Christmas party. When Lisa tries to commit suicide, Derek’s wife, Sharon finds out and begins to think Derek is having an affair. 3 months later, Sharon forgives him, then Lisa comes back to take what she thinks is hers! I highly recommend OBSESSED!!!
March 5, 2010
#4
Many of the reviewers here have focused upon the performance of Beyonce Knowles in this updated version of “Fatal Attraction.” For my money, her performance certainly shows that she can certainly do more than just sing and dance. Was she believable? Yes. Was her performance in any way embarrassing? Not in the least. Should Meryl Streep start to worry about the competition? No, but then again the role that Beyonce was required to play was one that could have been played effectively by any number of young performers in today’s entertainment universe, with the possible exception of Mariah Carey. Hopefully having her name on the marquee will draw in viewers who otherwise might have missed this exciting psychological thriller.
Fans of “The Wire” and “The Office” are already familiar with the talents of Idris Elba. The twist in this film that makes it different from “Fatal Attraction” is that Elba’s husband character is entirely innocent of any extra-marital activity, unlike Michael Douglas in “Fatal Attraction.” Even though the Douglas character did not deserve the troubles that he faced in that earlier film, you always knew that he was responsible for them due to his choice to be unfaithful to his wife.
In this film, to his credit Idris Elba, rejects the advances of the persistent Ali Larter’s character on numerous occasions. Sure, he could have told his wife about the initial advances of the obsessed temp and perhaps saved himself some of the strains to his marriage but such would have done nothing to affect the behavior of the obsessed woman who was not going to give up her quest. Elba’s husband was simply in an impossible situation. Telling his wife, co-workers, and even the police was not going to get him out of the box that he found himself in.
I found Ali Larter’s performance to be even more frightening than Glenn Close’s in “Fatal Attraction” since unlike Close, she exhibited no outward visible manifestations of a mental illness. A casual observer in the office might have noticed her interest and attraction to the Elba character, but who would have suspected the sort of obsessive behavior that she was capable of once she was outside of the office environment?
Although the film’s ultimate conclusion was fairly predictable, it was exciting and satisfying. If you enjoy films like “Fatal Attraction,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” “Basic Instinct” and “Disclosure,” watching this one would be a great way to spend an evening.
March 5, 2010
#5
But it’s still a very good feature. This can be a tool used in teaching about sexual harassment. I think it’s also a film that can be used in marriage counselling classes as you really feel sorry for the husband, and the fact that he has to go through the come-ons by the temp, but he should’ve told his wife about it in the first place. I found this to be the dark side of going to work. I have come to the conclusion that work isn’t a social outlet, and it doesn’t pay to find out how the other co-workers are doing. It’s also becoming where you have to keep yourself…just keep saying you’re F.I.N.E. you can fill in the blanks. I honestly don’t know if work was supposedly at one time a way of making friends, or not….who knows we may have been all wrong about socializing with our co-workers, giving hugs, dating each other. If that wasn’t what we were supposed to do at work then we’ve put each other in danger. I don’t know the answers to this. It’s just a crying shame that something as innocent as a hug can be construed as a sexual come-on, and that some people are ignored, not part of the team, or part of the family while others are fortunate to have friends at work, possibly soul mates. Me being one of the many who are ignored sympathize with all the others out there who are ignored. The ones who get in trouble for being vulnerable, and feel like they don’t just belong. I feel for each and everyone of you I wish I could say that your co-workers will like you, and everything will be fine…well it may very well be if you find the right place to work to have social outlets. However, don’t do what was done in this feature….it may cost you your life. I know I’ve said I would rather work out of my house instead of going to work anymore, but I may not have that option, so until I find that job where I feel like I belong, and can have friends at work…possibly a soul mate I will just have to watch out, and be careful with who I want to be friends with at work.