Obsessed

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Black and white text... Go figure.

A 2009 thriller/drama directed by Steve Shill and starring Beyoncé Knowles in her first serious role that doesn't relate to music.

Successful businessman Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is doing very well for himself. He has a beautiful wife (Knowles), an adorable son, and his family and he have just moved into their first house together. But after meeting an office temp named Lisa (Ali Larter) on the way to his office, it soon becomes clear that his wife is not the only woman with feelings for him, and the harmless flirting of a crush quickly becomes quite a bit more serious than anyone expected.

Tropes used in Obsessed include:

Lisa: Do it. Hit me. You can do anything you want to me.

  • Blondes Are Evil: Perhaps a bit of Truth in Television regarding the perception of the demographic being targeted by the film, as it plays on the racial tension specifically between black women and white women over black males (some may recall a scene from Save the Last Dance that addresses this perception more directly).
  • Captain Ersatz / Cliché Storm / Plagiarism: This movie is, uh, kind of maybe a wee bit deriative of Audition, Fatal Attraction, Misery and Play Misty for Me.
  • Cat Fight: The inevitable showdown between Sharon and Lisa.
  • Chekhov's Floor: The structural integrity of the boards in the attic.
  • Double Standard Abuse (Female on Male): A large source of Lisa's manipulative power in the film, along with people around him questioning if he might have lead her on.
  • Driven to Suicide: Though, one might question if this was a genuine desire to die, or a desperate wanting of attention.
  • Hey, It's That Guy!
    • Sliders fans will quickly recognize Quinn Mallory, more accurately Jerry O'Connell.
    • Bruce McGill (Joe Gage) often plays supporting roles and has been in the business for quite some time.
  • Lady in Red: Lisa, first with a trench coat, then later with a dress. Also hinted at with her pair of red-soled Louboutin pumps.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: Rather than playing mind games for sport, Lisa's motive comes across as really wanting to be with Derek, and also attributes his rejection of her to circumstances rather than how he feels.
  • Mama Bear: Sharon Charles when you try to break up her family and especially if you touch her son.
  • Mood Whiplash: When Derek finds Lisa unconscious in his bed, he is at first incredibly angry but then realizes she's not breathing so he starts CPR, but the whiplash comes from what he says while he's doing it, which is: "Breathe, bitch!" It's hard not to giggle when you can tell he'd like nothing more than to let her die, but is forced to save her to keep from being accused for murder.
  • Not Quite Dead: Played with to the point of almost being humorous. Lisa first catches herself before falling through the ceiling, then catches herself while falling past the chandelier. She then falls through the glass coffee table, appearing to have fatally hit her head on one of its legs, but then opens her eyes. Finally, the chandelier falls from the ceiling and onto poor Lisa, ending her reign of terror on the Charles family.
  • Pay Evil Unto Evil
  • Pet Homosexual: Patrick the secretary assistant.

Ben: She grabbed your package, flashed you in your car... Come on Derek, I thought we were best friends. [Smirking] I cannot believe you didn't tell me sooner!
Derek: And you think think this is funny?
Ben: Yes! I do!

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