Obsession (1976)

In 1959 in New Orleans, real estate magnate Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) celebrates his tenth wedding anniversary with his lovely wife Elizabeth (Genevieve Bujold) and nine year-old daughter Amy (Wanda Blackman). But as we hear the portentous music in the background and see a butler with a pistol tucked inside his belt and inside his white jacket, we feel something ominous. That night Michael's wife and daughter are kidnapped as a $500,000 ransom note is left behind. Although Michael is warned not to call the police he does so. Inspector August Brie (Stanley Reyes), he of the thick accent, has a strategy that he says works every time. This plan involves placing a transmitter inside the briefcase with fake money packs. Then the police simply follow the pick-up man with a radio truck. At the destination the kidnappers are apprehended. Simple! Of course the plan goes awry, and the kidnappers escape in their car with their victims, or so it seems. Hey police, you could have shot the tires out! Anyway, it ends tragically as the kidnappers' car crashes into a tractor-trailer oil tanker and explodes, killing everyone aboard. No bodies are found. Grief stricken Michael builds a church-like tomb on undeveloped prime land to his deceased wife and daughter.Sixteen years later, in 1975, Michael and his close friend / partner Bob La Salle (John Lithgow) travel to Florence, Italy on business and vacation. Courtland goes to the Florence church where he had met his late wife after the Second World War. He is startled to spot a young woman (around 25 years-old) who looks exactly like his dead wife at the height of their marriage. She (Sandra Portinari = Genevieve Bujold) is restoring mural art from the early Renaissance (1325). Sandra responds well to the older man and says that her task is to prepare the painting for the specialist. She also wonders that there may be an older, cruder painting underneath the later one. Michael says of the newer work, "Hold on to it, beauty should be protected." This statement gives us a hint of what the movie is about: People are not what they seem to be. A courtship develops, and before long Michael desires Sandra and wants to marry her. When the two visit Sandra's dying mother in a local hospital, she tells Michael to marry her. He takes her to new Orleans, but his co-workers tell him he is pushing things too quickly. Sandra begins to poke around Michael's mansion. With a half-hour or so to go, the ploys begin to make sense, but no spoilers will be given in this review. The movie spells things out quite well, and there should not be too many questions from viewers. Love that closing shot! Director Brian De Palma has created a few classics, like "Carrie" (1976), "Dressed to Kill" (1980), "Blow Out" (1981), "Scarface" (1983), and "The Untouchables" (1987). He is a master at creating a moody atmosphere, as he has done here with "Obsession," which is helped by Bernard Hermann's haunting music score. By the way, Hermann worked Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in 1958. There are other pluses, like Vilmos Zsigmond's outstanding Panavision photography and the deliberate pacing. Cliff Robertson, paralyzed by melancholia, plays his role well. Bujold too is in good form in a dual role (hint, hint). Despite the plot holes, this one is worth watching (and fascinating).

This has always been an interesting movie in that for one, I had once lived in New Orleans a big portion of my life, and so it made me a bit homesick watching it right after my leaving this city in 1975. The Garden District home portrayed is exactly how beautiful they really are. It looked as though they had filmed the office scenes in the International Trade Mart building. The biggest thing I liked about the movie, besides it being full of suspense and action, was the dreamlike mood the background chorus music created throughout. This made it very unusual compared to other movies at the time. It kept you mesmerized - as if you were falling in love too. It was one of the first films I ever saw where the camera circled the characters so dramatically in the scenes of the dinner dance, and at the very ending. I thought the actors and actresses were all very good in it.

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

I have yet to see a film that Cliff Robertson , John Lithgow and/or Genevieve Bujold do not shine. And this is yet another example. Stellar actors. From start to finish this extraordinary film takes the audience on a mesmerizing journey. I vividly remember seeing this film with a family member in the 1980's , just the ending of the film, and without a doubt this would have to be one of the most moving scenes I've ever encountered. I dare anyone to watch this film and not be moved at the finale. Many modern movies have over-the-top special effects and minimal acting , where the audience is left deflated since they weren't able to connect with the characters. Here we have minimal special effects and stellar acting all around , as well as high quality musical composer Bernard Herrman.A lot of Brian da Palma's other films are overly laden with violence and gratuitous scenes, and yet somehow this film, Obsession, is an example of how you can make a highly engaging film that mesmerizes an audience WITHOUT any explicit material. I highly recommend this film as de Palma's best.