Obsessed

Triangle

If someone attractive were to flash at you, say in the form of Ali Larter, I guess our eyes will be peeled to what lies under. However, under the hands of director Steve Shill, the minute that happened, you're likely to reel against that awful looking lingerie, complete with granny styled undies. And that's probably the reaction you're gonna get throughout this film, which tried its hand to build suspense, tension and terror when an infatuated girl allows her fantasies to run amok, wrecking the resolve of big time executive Derek (Idris Elba) and his wife Sharon (Beyonce Knowles).

But this is not a Fatal Attraction, because the lust somehow got consummated offscreen, and to much rejection by Derek against the advances of Larter's Lisa, an attractive femme fatale who recently got a temp(tress) job at his firm. I guess they say money, fame and power attracts, so Lisa goes for the kill almost instantly, picking up plenty of intimate tips from his personal assistant with a loose mouth.

The film showed some flashes (pardon the pun) of potential, such as the notion of what goes around coming around to haunt you and provide that tinge of insecurity, but largely wasted by a very verbatim pacing which insisted on showing and developing a lot of back story to build up the attraction between the characters of Lisa and Derek, but this ultimately gave way no thanks to a lot of lull moments. I felt that Shrill could have tightened the narrative up a little, rather than let many scenes just drag on.

Beyonce for once doesn't sing in the film she stars in, but that didn't provide for any breakthrough in performance, as she drew the shortest end of the stick where characterization is concerned. Her Sharon scores an about turn, though some may appreciate it for that bit of unintentional humour, where she becomes this thrash-talking bitch who shows the office slut who's the boss and just who wears the pants in the house. Her confrontation with Lisa would on one hand allow you to enjoy some serious cat-fights, and on the other just make you shake your head in disbelief. Beyonce, given her goody-image, does lapse into being Beyonce at a crucial moment, and I guess this is for the sake of some damage control after the hilarious and ridiculous finale.

Obsessed tried to be smart, but in the end succumbed to just being quite juvenile in its presentation, with a below average story that couldn't really end off with a bang, but with a whimper.

You can read my review of Obsessed at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.