Obsessed Fails to Stand Out

By Broadside Staff Writer Joshua Hylton

We all have obsessions—some of us obsess over the opposite sex, some over sports and others movies. The new film Obsessed follows Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp worker who becomes so infatuated with her boss, Derek (Idris Elba), that she drives herself to the brink of suicide in order to create a fabricated story that will tear his family apart.

The problem is that the way this movie unfolds is so artificial that you do not buy for a second that anybody is in any real danger. Doing an intelligent analysis of what would happen in real life if an actual person obsessed over you could make for a riveting film, as seen with the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction, but this fails to hit even the most basic levels.

The largest problem is that the film lacks context. Why is she doing what she is doing? Is she simply crazy? But more importantly, why should I care? None of these questions are answered, if even brought up at all, denying the characters the chance to grow into something more than walking, talking cardboard cutouts.
Since the writing is so poor, it is hard to place too much blame on the actors, but quite simply, they still were not up to the task. Larter, in particular, is awful. She is a good actress in the right role, but she intensely over-exaggerated her character in this movie to the point of caricature, making her less of a threat and more of a joke.

Obsessed is one of those films where everything could be sorted out if the characters would simply sit down and have a civil conversation, but ridiculous plot turns prevent it from happening. Early in the movie before anything outlandish occurs, Derek attempts to tell his wife, Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles), that Lisa is coming on to him. Before he does, she tells him that her sister’s boyfriend had an affair and she had to convince her not to kill herself. Fearful of his wife falling into the same mindset, he decides to withdraw the information. How convenient.

In fact, the only reason the film has any tension at all is because of the overpowering score, which plays steadily and brooding in the background. Without it, you would believe Lisa is simply an overly enthusiastic worker eager to get the job done and impress her boss, a trait many would admire.

Much like a firework shot into the sky only to fizzle out in disappointment, Obsessed builds and builds only to flat line in the end due to what becomes an increasingly ridiculous story, climaxing with a three-round cat fight between the two girls. Meow, indeed. With manufactured tension, poor performances and a shoddy script, Obsessed fails to deliver.