Obsessed
PG-13 for sexual material, including some suggestive dialogue, some violence and thematic content
Derek Charles has it all: Beautiful wife, happy child, new house, promotion at work, all-around good looks, the acclaim of his peers. But he's about to get something he didn't bargain for: a stalker.
The Story
Life couldn't be better for Derek Charles (Idris Elba from "The Wire" and "The Office"). He married his former assistant, the beautiful Sharon (Beyonce Knowles), and has an adorable son named Kyle. Derek recently landed a promotion at work and just moved into a swanky new house. He's young, handsome, and successful.
And then he meets Lisa (Ali Larter, "Heroes"), the secretarial temp who is about to change everything.
Derek notices that Lisa is attractive but puts it out of his mind. He's nice to her, like he is to everyone, but something isn't quite right. Lisa begins to position herself in Derek's life, turning a one-day temp assignment into a lengthy gig.
Sharon notices and warns Derek to be careful, but he's sure there's nothing to worry about. He'd never cheat on his wife.
Lisa keeps worming her way in, though, and eventually makes her move, cornering him in an office bathroom after an alcohol-fueled Christmas party and then later appearing half naked in his car. While innocent, Derek struggles with coming clean to his wife and coworkers. His hesitation only makes things worse as Lisa ratchets up her obsession.
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on its own terms
What Works: Derek is an all-around nice guy. He's the well-deserved success story, and you can't help but root for him. You see how innocent he is and how conniving Lisa is, and it all mixes together for a fair amount of tension.
What Doesn't Work: Been there, done that. The "Fatal Attraction" story has been told again and again. This is just another predictable retread from the initial meeting in the elevator, to the way Lisa keeps popping up, to the implosion of Derek's life, to the final end game when -- hardly seems worth it but SPOILER ALERT -- somebody dies.
"Obsession" is a thriller that doesn't have much thrill because you know where it's going. Getting there is done well enough, I suppose, but it's nothing brilliant.
Content: This is a movie about sexual infidelity, so we see plenty of sexual situations and hear lots of talk about it. Violence includes one brawl to the death, and strong language includes uses of both God's and Jesus' name for swearing.
Worldview
How the film's perspective compares to a biblical take on life
Derek Charles is a family man, and the film stays true to the age-old biblical perspective found in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) A husband and wife must stay true to one another, and hooking up with the new girl at work is a big no-no.
Jesus even takes it up a notch when He says, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.'" (Matthew 5:27-28).
While the movie portrays Derek as innocent, it is clear he doesn't make the best choices. He puts himself in compromising situations; he doesn't come clean about what's going on; and then he lies about it.
The Bible makes it pretty clear what we should do in the face of such temptation: run! That's what Joseph did when his master's wife tried to seduce him. In the short term he ended up in jail, but in the end Joseph's integrity was rewarded by God.
In much the same way, Derek's character and general innocence eventually prevail, but he could have saved himself and his family a lot of heartache if he'd run from the temptation and been honest about it from the start.
Questions:
- How many different ways do you think Hollywood can tell this same story?
- Were you surprised by any of Derek's choices? What should he have done differently? Could he really have prevented any of this?
- What do you think of Beyonce as an actress? Think she'll end up being remembered more for her music or her movies in the long run?
- What do you do when faced with sexual temptation?
- Sometimes being innocent isn’t enough to keep you out of trouble. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to be "more" than innocent?
- What's the best way to avoid a dilemma like Derek's?
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