Because we LOVE to exaggerate and LIVE for the drama, we often say “omg I’m addicted”. Whether referring to a celebrity or a new Netflix show as a society. But most of the time, we don’t mean it literally. Because obsession may be dangerous if it means you’re continuously, intrusively thinking about something or someone. All of this is to say that films about obsession have a certain allure. That it’s mix of thrill and terror, comparable to the suspense of a good horror film. Neurosis and infatuation movies have always been popular, dating back to the early 1960s. When the novel Lolita was adapted into a blockbuster film feature. If you’re looking for something interesting to watch on Netflix, check out this list of the top obsession movies, ranked by how fascinated you’ll be.
1. All That Jazz (1979)
Director- Bob Fosse
Joe Gideon is done from choreographing and selecting dancers for his current show. While also editing his feature film about a stand-up comic. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with his girlfriend, ex-wife, and special dancing daughter without the pharmacological medications. They try to pull him back from the brink, but his fatigued body and stressed-out heart are too late. He chain smokes, takes drugs, sleeps with his dancers. He puts himself through open-heart surgery as a result of his overwork. Scenes from his past begin to intrude into the present, and he becomes more aware of his mortality.
2. The Red Shoes (1948)
Director- Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Victoria Page is an obscure but determined dancer who aspires to establish a name for herself in the difficult world of ballet. She is catapult to prominence by a twist of fate. Vicky finally becomes the company’s prima ballerina, following the untimely retirement of the haughty impresario Boris Lermontov’s top performance. She enjoys the sweet taste of instant acclaim with their interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s charming storey, The Red Shoes. However, the joyful ballerina will soon be forced to face the indignity of choice, as a passionate whirlwind relationship and her self-sacrificing commitment to her art begin to pull her apart. Victoria’s hallowed art now demands a price.
3. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Director- Bily Wilder
In this dark film noir narrative, Norma Desmond, an ageing silent cinema queen, refuses to recognise that her time in the spotlight is over; she lives as a recluse, convinced that her celebrity is as powerful as ever. She employs Joe Gillis, a young, hack screenwriter, to write a screenplay featuring her. In an attempt to set up her comeback in film after meeting him. The screenwriter assumes he can control her, but he quickly realises how impossible this is. Furthermore, his ambivalence toward their relationship, along with Norma’s insane refusal to let go, has disastrous effects for both parties.
4. The King of Comedy (1982)
Director- Martin Scorsese
Rupert Pupkin is hell-bent on becoming a comedic legend. When he approaches his idol, talk show presenter Jerry Langford, with a request to play on his show, he is given the cold shoulder. He does not give up, though, and continues to pursue Jerry until he obtains what he desires. In order to execute his stand-up performance, he must eventually band up with his insane Langford-obsessed pal Masha to abduct the talk show presenter.
5. The Wrestler (2008)
Director- Darren Aronofsky
Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson was a successful wrestler twenty years ago; now he lives alone in a trailer, works part-time at a supermarket, and wrestles on weekends. Robinson experiences a heart attack in the locker room after a wrestling match and requires heart by-pass surgery; his doctor prevents him from using drugs or wrestling again. Randy chooses to retire and invites Pam “Cassidy,” a stripper and lap dancer, to live with him. She, on the other hand, refuses to accept and proposes that he talk to his daughter Stephanie about their differences. Randy takes a full-time job in a supermarket, but he struggles to adjust to life outside of the arena, so he returns to the sport where he is well-known.
6. The Prestige (2006)
Director- Christopher Nolan
Robert Angier, his beloved wife Julia McCullough, and Alfred Borden are friends and assistants of a magician in London at the close of the nineteenth century. When Julia dies inadvertently during a performance, Robert holds Alfred responsible for her death, and the two become adversaries. Both become famous and rival magicians, ruining the other’s stage act. When Alfred pulls off a successful trick, Robert gets obsessed with uncovering his competitor’s secret, which has tragic results.
7. Whiplash (2014)
Director- Damien Chazelle
Andrew Neiman, a 19-year-old jazz drummer, is on a mission to become the nation’s most prestigious music institution. Andrew is plagued by his father’s unsuccessful literary career, and he yearns to be one of the greats at all hours of the day and night. Terence Fletcher, the school’s best jazz band, is led by Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons, Juno), a teacher noted for both his teaching abilities and his scary techniques. Andrew is discovered by Fletcher, who recruits him into his band, dramatically changing the young man’s life. As his harsh tutor continues to push him to the limit of both his talent and his sanity, Andrew’s desire to reach perfection gradually spirals into obsession.
8. The Disaster Artist (2017)
Director- James Franco
While waiting for his big break in late-1990s California, young hopeful actor Greg Sestero is ecstatic to meet his soulmate, the eccentric and mysterious amateur performer Tommy Wiseau, in his acting class. The aspiring big movie stars move to sunny Los Angeles with thoughts of making it big in Hollywood, only to discover—after one terrible audition after another—that the world isn’t quite ready for their amazing talent yet. Tommy and Greg would eventually plunge into the uncharted waters of filmmaking to make their own film in one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions, blazing with a passion to prove everyone wrong; yet, they are plainly out of their element. The Room (2003), the culmination of their joint labour, is a testament to courage, endurance, and, above all, devotion.
9. Black Swan (2010)
Director- Darren Aronofsky
Nina Sayers, a beautiful, vulnerable, and dedicated ballerina, has worked for years at a prestigious New York City ballet company, consumed by an unbridled drive for perfection that is gnawing at her. The autocratic artistic director, Thomas Leroy, decides to give Nina the leading role of the Swan Queen in his bold re-imagining of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s eternal love storey, The Swan Lake—a demanding dual role consisting of two contrasting characters: the White and the Black Swan—after forcing his former protégé, Beth MacIntyre, into early retirement. Now, as Nina attempts to delve deeper and deeper into her well-hidden dark side, she finds herself involved in a world of relentless rivalry, unbridled envy, and bizarre hallucinations, as she faces strong competition in the form of rookie corps-de-ballet dancer Lily. Transcendence is demanded by the passionate Black Swan.
10. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Director- Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Riggan Thomson is a British actor who played the famed superhero “Birdman” for almost two decades. Now in his forties, he’s making his Broadway debut, directing “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” a drama based on a Raymond Carver novel. He’ll play out the show previews with the help of his assistant and daughter Sam, as well as his producer Jake, even when a talented actor he hired, Mike Shiner, acts arbitrarily, the internal issues between him and the other casts, his useless maximum efforts to critics, and the unexpected voices of his old character- the Birdman, all conspire to push his sanity until the first debut show.
11. I, Tonya (2017)
Director- Craig Gillespie
Tonya Harding, the child prodigy who was driven into the world of skating by her demanding and violent mother, Lavona Golden, tells her rocky upbringing. Tonya has always been a victim of her abundant talent, from her damaging relationship with her first beau, Jeff Gillooly, to her utter defeat in the 1992 Winter Olympics, and from that disgraceful incident with her friend and fellow skater, Nancy Kerrigan, to her last chance at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Even if you are the first American figure skater to accomplish the notoriously difficult triple axel flawlessly in competition, talent alone isn’t enough.
Finally, we briefly considered themes from each of these movies and came up with a few universal notions you might consider as you think about your top obsession movies.
