Something must attract you to see a movie; it is either the title, the actors, or the movie’s hype. For Nollywood movie; Obsession, the title is the catch. We are about to find out if the whole film is as catchy as the title.
Obsession is the story of a young lady (Benedicta Gafah) and her husband (Gideon Okeke), who just got a new female neighbour (Munachi Abii). For Benedicta, she seemed quite excited about having a new neighbour, but all plans to get close to her failed. She didn’t know that Munachi suffered from body dysmorphia and wanted to kill her. Munachi thinks the young lady is the one who crippled her fingers in secondary school, and she came to seek revenge. Was she able to get this revenge? You’ve got to find out.
I have just one question for the writer of Obsession; What exactly was she trying to achieve. Truthfully, the story was everywhere, and it seemed almost impossible to understand the message and main point of the film. There are so many unanswered questions in the movie, making the viewers even more confused at the movie’s end. For instance, if the neighbour has a mental health issue because of a classmate who offended her, why is she always writing out the name of her husband. Is the married young lady the secondary friend who offended her or not? For real, if the writer was trying to imitate the Hollywood style of writing, that was an attempt gone wrong.
However, Obsession is not an everyday story, considering it talks about a rare mental condition, and it would have been better if it fell into the hands of a better scriptwriter.
Everything is wrong with the directing of Obsession because some mistakes make you wonder if the director understands. To start with, what influenced the choice of actors? Then how come these characters can easily enter the house even after jamming the door? Is it realistic that a woman would leave her husband and a neighbour she considers weird alone? For a movie like Obsession, you will expect a level of pace to heighten the film, but then, the suspense got us bored, other than curious.
No doubt Benedicta Gafar is a good actress, but was she perfect for that role? I doubt it. Munachi Abii embodied her role well, and she deserves some accolades. For Mercy Aigbe and Gideon Okeke, they didn’t do badly at all, and for Shaffy Bello, she sure knows how to deliver her roles. Although these actors are good in their rights, the acting lacked synergy and energy.
Should we talk about how the cinematographer was shifting from day to night in a particular scene, or should I keep quiet?
In all, Obsession would have been a beautiful movie in the hands of a better cast and crew. For ratings, it will get a 3/10
