Obsessed
(2009/Sony Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B-/C+ Sound: B/B- Extras: D Film: D
Back when
Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992, both reviewed
elsewhere on this site) were huge hits, material that was once the realm of
B-movies became the target of many an A-level Hollywood production. That cycle lasted for years, finally dying
when every cliché and last penny had been squeezed out of it. It is also because digital effects became the
next fad and other distractions arrived.
Steve Shill’s Obsessed (2009)
tries to revive this kind of film, but does not even come close.
Idris
Elba (so good on the TV hit The Wire)
and singer Beyoncé Knowles play a happily married couple who “have everything”
including a nice house, money, beautiful baby boy and solid marriage. That is all true until the latter gets
challenged by a new sexy temp worker (Ali Larter, picked because she looks like
Sharon Stone, Nastasha Henstridge, Glenn Close and any other blonde as
seductress anyone can think of) meets our working husband and becomes
interested in more than just business.
For
starters, the film is PG-13, so it does not have the room to be as graphic and
bold as its better predecessors, but that is not enough of an excuse for it to
be so dull. In addition, the amazing
idiot plot of the David Loughery script is worse than many sitcoms and this
film has little energy, the kind required for intrigue and suspense. Elba is good, Larter fair but not nuts enough
and Beyoncé… she is not a great actress,
but can give a good performance when given good material and direction. Both are sadly lacking here and the result is
a flat, sometimes silly performance that does not work out. Jerry O’Connell as the office friend is does
not work, nor does the not-so-bright gay character.
The film
not only does not know what to do with racial politics (even when it crosses
into “get whitey” mode), but much worse for this kind of film, is clueless
about sexual politics. At 108 minutes,
it wastes time very unconstructively, plays too often like a bad TV movie and
does not even know how to get the most of the couple having a child. If only the filmmakers were “obsessed” about
making a good thriller, this could have worked.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is a little softer and weaker than
expected, with some noise (not grain either, though this was shot in Super 35mm
film and there is some grain) that should not be on a new release like
this. The anamorphically enhanced DVD is
poorer, though the lower definition ironically hides some flaws. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is not great, with a
soundmix that has poor dialogue and for such a would-be thriller, does not make
the best use of the surrounds. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 on the DVD is weaker with less warmth and presence. Extras include BD Live on the Blu-ray only
(of course) and Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices, while both
editions have a making of featurette and other minor additions with no point.
- Nicholas Sheffo
