If you heard that a movie was being filmed with the working title of Oh No She Didn’t, who would expect to be the star of that film? You wouldn’t have to go too far down that list to get to the name of Beyonce Knowles, the mega singing superstar-cum-actress. If you then learn that they changed the working title to the singular Obsessed, you might except it be a ripoff of previous stalker films. Throw in Ali Larter as the villain, and that might further solidify that fact in your mind. But adding the great Idris Elba a.k.a. Stringer Bell from HBO’s The Wire as the man that those two women are fighting over, and Obsessed could turn out to be better than expected.
Power broker Derek (Elba) and his wife Sharon (Beyonce) are completely happy with each other. He just got a big promotion, they have a beautiful baby, and a big, new home. She plans to go back to college. But then a temp named Lisa (Larter) gets a job at Derek’s office. She immediately sets her sights on Derek, but when he turns Lisa away, things get escalated to another level.
Really that is all you need to know about the plot. You can predict what happens next. Obsessed is a cookie-cutter “stalker thriller” film. It mainly copies Fatal Attraction, but there are also bits and pieces of Disclosure, Fear, and Swimfan thrown in there for good measure. The writers don’t help things as they seem to want to make sure that the audience knows what is about to happen next. Foreshadowing starts from the first minute or two, where they focus heavily on the attic in Derek and Sharon’s new house that doesn’t have a solid floor. Even if you haven’t seen the trailer for this film, you have to know that this scene will show up again at some point.
Unfortunately, the acting doesn’t help this film much either. Idris Elba is definitely the best actor of the three leads, but he is merely along for the ride here. Obsessed is meant to be a starring vehicle for Beyonce, and honestly the character she plays in this film could only be played by her. Her over-the-top acting skills fit the role perfectly during the final fight scene. Ali Larter is game as the villain, who is a beautiful but crazy person. Her character doesn’t have much depth; we are just supposed to look at her and accept the fact that she is crazy and that is all that matters. Larter has been doing that type of role on Heroes for a few years now. So really they couldn’t have found better actors to play these characters. That still doesn’t mean that the acting saves this film.
Obsessed wants to be an erotic stalker thriller exactly like Fatal Attraction, but the PG-13 rating really waters the erotic factor down. Lisa is not really that great of a evil stalker villain character either. You never feel like Lisa could pose much of a threat to Derek or Sharon. Idris Elba and his best efforts can’t salvage this thriller. The only worthwhile scene is the over-the-top catfight between Beyonce and Ali Larter – that’s it.
The video is presented in 1080p/AVC at the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen color ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs of course. This transfer is great. The colors are mostly bright, and the details are mostly vibrant.
The audio included is available in either English Dolby 5.1 TrueHD Surround sound, French Dolby 5.1 TrueHD Surround sound, Portuguese Dolby 5.1 TrueHD Surround sound, or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. SBut nothing that will blow you away.
Blu-Ray Exclusives
There are no Blu-ray exclusives included on this release.
Found on the Standard Edition As Well…
“Playing Nicely Together” Featurette –
This runs 15 minutes and it’s your standard “making of” featurette. The basic fluff cast and crew interviews are included.
“Girl Fight!” Featurette –
This runs 11 minutes and it breaks down the climatic fight sequence between the two female star. It’s somewhat interesting to learn about all the stunt work used for this scene, and to learn about the research the director did for this scene.
“Dressed to Kill” Featurette –
This runs 9 1/2 minutes and it’s all about the film’s style and wardrobe selections for all the main characters.
If you are a super fan of Idris Elba, Beyonce, or Ali Larter, Obsessed might be worth a rental. All others should probably pass on this, except for those that love a good catfight. As for which version to rent or purchase, well the Blu-ray DVD is has nothing exclusive to it. So stick with the standard definition DVD.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents Obsessed. Directed by Steve Shill. Starring Beyonce Knowles, Ali Larter, and Idris Elba. Written by David Loughery. Running time: 108 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: August 4, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
