At the turn of the seventies and eighties of the 20th century De Palma had a fertile period of making thriller/horror genre films; during which period he directed some 10 of these. Thriller drama Obsession is among them. Although the film did not succeed in reaching a cult status such as Blow out, Dressed To Kill, Carrie, Sisters... it features a lot of interesting characteristics present in all De Palma's films from that period; continuous uninterrupted shots, 360 degree rotation camera, unusual angles of view that emphasize psychedelic atmosphere (Dutch angle), a subtle way of revealing details... Besides the director's recognizable signature, the film abounds in a series of clumsy solutions and archaisms and this is the reason why it fell into shadows and oblivion giving way to more accomplished films of that period. Today's anonymity of the film does not, however, mean that at the time of its release it did not arouse considerable interest among the public and yield profits.
His attitude of admiration towards and references to Hitchcock are much accentuated. This work could be described in a summary as a hybrid between Rebecca and Vertigo. The story is about a wealthy businessman, Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) whose wife and daughter were killed during a kidnapping attempt. The fact that he did not follow kidnappers' instructions, but those given by the police causes him to feel deeply guilty. From that tragic event on the time stopped for him. He spends his years in mourning his family until the day he meets a young woman Sandra (Geneviève Bujold) strikingly resembling his dead wife. He becomes obsessed with her. He enters quickly into relationship with her and wants to marry her. But we later discover that she is his daughter driven by the desire for revenge. She is acting in conspiracy with Michael's partner Robert (John Lithgow) who actually planned the first kidnapping, spared little Sandra, brought her up and made her hate her father. His motive is anger towards his partner whom he blames for business inefficiency and wish to take possession of his fortune. Michael kills Robert and realizes with his daughter how they were manipulated and forgive each other.
A premise as such contains some inconsistencies and arguably elaborated thematic of incest. An excellent acting could have given more strength to the film, but the opposite is what has happened - poor and unconvincing performance finished it completely. Cliff Robertson was an unlucky choice for the protagonist. He's lacking the necessary intensity and his gestures are packed with mannerisms. He gives impression of a wooden doll that expresses to experience strong emotions by starting to stare and blink. Romantic scenes are presented without any passion or obsession. It is interesting that there are no signs of aging, although the story covers 20 years. His co-protagonist, Geneviève Bujold showed greater acting capabilities, however she gave an uneven performance. She brought her character as an unfortunate person, not showing an obsessive need for revenge – that was supposed to be her main driving force and characteristic. Incest based approach applied through the whole film – in an unusually easy and romantic way. The question stays hanging in the air- What kind of a woman would accept to inflict vengeance upon her father through an incestuous relationship? And how is that possible that this dark, ill side of her character is not a theme treated in this film? John Lithgow (Michael's business partner) as far as he's concerned hasn't much to offer to this work, except for the evidence from the very beginning that he is the main villain. Through that the tension and culmination of final conflict are lost for the film.
The attempt to accentuate dramatic moments through long shots resulted in extremely boring sequences. As the acting is shallow, continuous shot just gave more emphasis to it. Neither the music was of great help, although made by one of top-level composers, Bernard Herrmann (Battle of Neretva, Psycho, Taxi Driver). The main theme is well elaborated – accentuates tension, however, playful symphonic scores in certain parts entirely ruin the course of film's plot. It is interesting, as well, to note that the first third of the film happens in the last decade of the 50s, nevertheless many style characteristics (footwear, hair styles, fashion...) belong unequivocally to the 70s. The film abounds in such inconsistencies which make it look antiquated and naive. This mediocre thriller seems to call for remake which would be able to explore the theme more deeply, put more emphasis on macabre ambiance, illnesses of obsessive impulses and incest of main characters. Such a story does not tolerate superficiality and glamorization, so eagerly adopted by De Palma for no reason.
His attitude of admiration towards and references to Hitchcock are much accentuated. This work could be described in a summary as a hybrid between Rebecca and Vertigo. The story is about a wealthy businessman, Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) whose wife and daughter were killed during a kidnapping attempt. The fact that he did not follow kidnappers' instructions, but those given by the police causes him to feel deeply guilty. From that tragic event on the time stopped for him. He spends his years in mourning his family until the day he meets a young woman Sandra (Geneviève Bujold) strikingly resembling his dead wife. He becomes obsessed with her. He enters quickly into relationship with her and wants to marry her. But we later discover that she is his daughter driven by the desire for revenge. She is acting in conspiracy with Michael's partner Robert (John Lithgow) who actually planned the first kidnapping, spared little Sandra, brought her up and made her hate her father. His motive is anger towards his partner whom he blames for business inefficiency and wish to take possession of his fortune. Michael kills Robert and realizes with his daughter how they were manipulated and forgive each other.
A premise as such contains some inconsistencies and arguably elaborated thematic of incest. An excellent acting could have given more strength to the film, but the opposite is what has happened - poor and unconvincing performance finished it completely. Cliff Robertson was an unlucky choice for the protagonist. He's lacking the necessary intensity and his gestures are packed with mannerisms. He gives impression of a wooden doll that expresses to experience strong emotions by starting to stare and blink. Romantic scenes are presented without any passion or obsession. It is interesting that there are no signs of aging, although the story covers 20 years. His co-protagonist, Geneviève Bujold showed greater acting capabilities, however she gave an uneven performance. She brought her character as an unfortunate person, not showing an obsessive need for revenge – that was supposed to be her main driving force and characteristic. Incest based approach applied through the whole film – in an unusually easy and romantic way. The question stays hanging in the air- What kind of a woman would accept to inflict vengeance upon her father through an incestuous relationship? And how is that possible that this dark, ill side of her character is not a theme treated in this film? John Lithgow (Michael's business partner) as far as he's concerned hasn't much to offer to this work, except for the evidence from the very beginning that he is the main villain. Through that the tension and culmination of final conflict are lost for the film.
The attempt to accentuate dramatic moments through long shots resulted in extremely boring sequences. As the acting is shallow, continuous shot just gave more emphasis to it. Neither the music was of great help, although made by one of top-level composers, Bernard Herrmann (Battle of Neretva, Psycho, Taxi Driver). The main theme is well elaborated – accentuates tension, however, playful symphonic scores in certain parts entirely ruin the course of film's plot. It is interesting, as well, to note that the first third of the film happens in the last decade of the 50s, nevertheless many style characteristics (footwear, hair styles, fashion...) belong unequivocally to the 70s. The film abounds in such inconsistencies which make it look antiquated and naive. This mediocre thriller seems to call for remake which would be able to explore the theme more deeply, put more emphasis on macabre ambiance, illnesses of obsessive impulses and incest of main characters. Such a story does not tolerate superficiality and glamorization, so eagerly adopted by De Palma for no reason.