Obsession (1976)

Truly Dreadful Film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Overshadowed by De Palma's own cult-classic CARRIE (1976) in the same year, OBSESSION ostensibly is De Palma's homage to Hitchcock's VERTIGO (1958) about a man, who is obsessed with a woman who is (presumably) dead, is given a second chance from her doppelgänger with a sinister scheme lurking behind. Although De Palma's execution lacks the professional attentiveness to the details, e.g. the obtrusive anachronism of the opening scenes supposed happening in the 1950s, thanks to Schrader's uncanny screenplay; the atmospheric craftsmanship of D.P. Vilmos Zsigmond (1930-2016), the master-hand who has just left us in the 1st January; and Bernard Herrmann's (the original composer of VERTIGO) Oscar-nominated solemn score, which is grandiosely awe-inspiring right from the ominous opening credits, OBSESSION is undeservedly being categorised as a shoddy pastiche, and deserves a better recognition for its own sake.Even in the fantastic cinema realm, the encounter with a woman who looks very much alike his dead wife, 16 years after her unfortunate death, at the exact locale, is too much a stretch to pull it off as a pure coincidence, but American real estate businessman Michael Courtland (Robertson) believes firmly. The story starts in the late 1950s, on the night of their 10th wedding anniversary, Michael's wife Elizabeth (Bujold) and their daughter Amy (Blackman) are kidnapped, and choosing to follow the police department's advice, Michael uses blank notes instead of real money as the ransom, the plan backfires with all the kidnappers and hostages dead due to a dead collision and explosion. 16 years has passed, Michael has to live through the consequences and has been deeply mired in self-accusation and remorse, during a business trip to Florence with his business partner Robert (Lithgow), miraculously he meets a young Italian girl Sandra Portinari (Bujold) who looks exactly like Elizabeth, and is doing some preliminary work to the restoration of a fresco of Madonna and Child in the church where he and Elizabeth met for the first time. Their very first conversation is about art restoration, and betrays Michael's preference of refurbishing the beautiful facade to digging up the truth beneath. Mutual attractions kindle, Michael's backstory is frankly accepted by Sandra, and a speedy marriage is under the way. Michael is believed to given a second chance from Elizabeth, to redeem the haunting guilt, until Sandra is kidnapped by the same fashion, this time, can he right the wrong or is there some bigger scheme involved?There is a simple and plausible explanation of the resemblance between Elizabeth and Sandra, but one wonders whether the story will advance into an incestuous scandal (considering American audience's priggish taste), and it turns out De Palma and Schrader are actually carrying this take- no-prisoners approach until the finale, where De Palma's suspenseful style reaches its trance-like apex, all is drawn to a split-second decision whether it will end as a gut-punching shocker or a less disturbing but also less convincing reconciliation. Even though it opts for the safer option in the eleventh hour, the film is still an effective thriller to say the least, leaving audience to wait for the axe to fall until the very end.Performance-wise, Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson's turn as a guilt-ridden husband hopelessly having recourse to a second chance to do the right thing is too broad and sometimes even a bit wooden apart from the glistening light in his eyes when he meets Sandra, surely is less compelling than his co-star Bujold, whose baby-face brings out a great effect in the key moments with De Palma's sleight-of-hand where the truth is replayed from her troubled mind, and one important factor that we can buy this tall-tale is her deceitful callowness; whereas Lithgow, offers his best annoying mannerism in spite of showing almost no ageing during a 16-year gap apart from a convenient moustache. On a whole, OBSESSION is singularly enjoyable, not as excellent as VERTIGO, but not a forgettable dud either.

The first 10 minutes of this movie is an exercise in pure style. DE PALMA uses BERNARD HERMANN's stunning background score to great effect. The rest of the film never really measures up to the first 10 minutes.The story (by PAUL SCHRADER and DE PALMA) is preposterous. But frankly, who cares? The film is wonderful to look and HERMANN's score is a pleasure to listen to. I wonder if the makers of OLD BOY were inspired by this film.Geneviève Bujold is not in the same league as some of the stunning Hitchcockian heroines. Cliff Robertson grows on you as the film progresses. I guess he was perfect for the role of the Southern patriarch. John Lithgow looked sinister. He is never boring.(8/10)

Obsession is directed by Brian De Palma and written by Paul Schrader. It stars Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold and John Lithgow. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Vismos Zsigmond.You either love him or hate him, it seems. Brian De Palma that is. He's an amazing stylist who made some piercingly great thrillers in the tradition of Maestro Hitchcock, or he's a knock off artist using style to hide his inadequacies as a story teller? One thing for sure, for a good portion of the 70s and 80s his films would not be ignored, for better or worse depending on your own proclivities of course.Obsession, as has been noted numerous times, is De Palma's homage to Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo. It's not a straight out copy as some reviewers have somehow managed to convince themselves, but narrative drive is similar. Robertson in grief for a passed on wife (Bujold) and daughter meets a doppelganger (also Bujold) of his dead wife 16 years down the line and becomes obsessed with her. As the new woman reciprocates the attraction, the relationship becomes wrought and borderline unhealthy, reaching a crescendo when muddy waters are stirred and revelations force the can to open and worms to spill everywhere.When remembering that for a long time Vertigo was out of circulation in the 70s, Obsession was sure as hell a good second option for anyone hankering for a superbly stylish thriller boiling over with psychological smarts. Even if you buy into the style over substance argument, what style there is here though. Roving camera work, up tilts, haze surrounds, canted frames, pan arounds, dream shimmers and personalised focus. Add in the splendid use of New Orleans and Tuscany locations and Herrmann's sensually dangerous score (lifted in part and re-worked from Vertigo) and it has style to burn. While the big reveals at pic's culmination are in turn intriguing and daring; even if the original ending planned would have really put the cat among the pigeons and made for a more potent piece ripe for heated discussion.Lead cast are on fine form, Robertson plays it superbly as a wistful and damaged wastrel, guilt and obsession seeping from every pore. Bujold is just darling, a telling twin performance that actually doesn't demand to be noticed until late in the play. While Lithgow stomps around the edges of the frame like some shyster lawyer whose tie is on too tight. Ultimately Obsession is a film crafted in the mode of Hitchcock, but not in anyway disgracefully so. This is no illegitimate relation to Vertigo, it's more like a reliable brother-in-law. Pulpy, Trashy but also Classy. Great. 8/10

OBSESSION, Brian de Palma's answer to Hitchcock's VERTIGO, is the most disappointing film I've seen from the director yet. Despite his steadfast direction and some not-bad performances from the central actors, this is a huge letdown of a film, purely due to the film-flam nature of the storyline. The truth is that it just doesn't hold together under close scrutiny. The whole plot hinges on a conspiracy of sorts which is so ridiculous, so unbelievable, that it could only appear in a movie.The story opens with ageing Hollywood heartthrob Cliff Robertson losing his wife and daughter during a kidnapping attempt. So far, so good. Unfortunately, the story then cuts to twenty years later and loses any of the focus or interest it had previously generated. It becomes a cheesy, '70s-era romance that goes nowhere, taking an age to build to that aforementioned ridiculous climax that asks the audience to swallow a wholly unbelievable plot. It's impossible.Robertson is passable as the lead actor, but he never lights up the screen in the way a Stewart, Grant or Peck would have done. He's definitely second-rate material. Genevieve Bujold, as the subject of his affection, is better, but not as good as Margot Kidder in de Palma's previous SISTERS. John Lithgow is a disappointment in the acting stakes, especially given his performance in the much better BLOW OUT. All in all, this is the most disappointing de Palma film I've watched yet, at least up until his work in the mid-'90s.