Cinema is filled with characters who turn into consumed by their needs, with quite a few movies depicting the unraveling of their lives as they toe the skinny line between ambition and obsession. Movies about obsession discover these excessive passions and fixations, utilizing well-written narratives to indicate how fascinating such relentless pursuits will be.
From the haunting descent portrayed in Taxi Driver to the frenetic depth captured in Whiplash, some films depict all-consuming obsessions in fascinating methods. Often serving as deep dives into the minds of troubled characters and their needs, these tales may have viewers transfixed, but unsettled, with most serving as a obvious warning of the hazards of wanting one thing an excessive amount of.
7. Nightcrawler (2014)
Lou Bloom (Presumed Innocent‘s Jake Gyllenhaal) is a down-on-his-luck petty thief in Los Angeles who quickly discovers the thrilling and far more profitable world of freelance photojournalism. Nightcrawler sees Lou absolutely embrace the job, changing into a stringer himself and recording more and more violent incidents to promote to native information stations. The extra sensational the footage, the upper the payout, so Lou turns into obsessive about capturing the proper shot, even when it means manipulating crime scenes and crossing different moral boundaries.
Directed by Dan Gilroy, the neo-noir thriller soars because of Gyllenhaal’s mesmerizing efficiency because the sociopathic Lou, whose unsettling apathy makes him good for the job. The disturbing protagonist is each a mirrored image and critique of the connection between unethical journalism and the buyer demand that feeds it. One of the best crime movies of the 2010s, Nightcrawler takes some actually darkish turns after a nightmarish buildup that makes it really feel like a slow-burn horror flick.
6. The Prestige (2006)
How a lot would you give as much as outdo a rival? This is the query director Christopher Nolan explores in The Prestige, with the reply being a spine-chilling and unforgettable twist. Set within the late nineteenth century, the 2006 movie follows two magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), whose intense competitors to outshine one another consumes their lives. The duo turns into decided to uncover one another’s secrets and techniques, with Angier changing into significantly fixated on Borden’s final trick, “The Transported Man.”
The Prestige premiered to crucial acclaim, with followers and critics praising its distinctive story that takes sudden paths and introduces stunning characters like David Bowie’s Nikola Tesla. Jackman and Bale’s dynamic is on the coronary heart of the movie, with the pair’s unhealthy competitors costing every far more than they initially thought. The comparatively underrated entry in Nolan’s intensive filmography is a must-see for the director’s followers, who will seemingly acknowledge his acquainted logos, from the non-linear narrative to the usage of symbolism all through.
5. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) appears to steer a steady life along with his spouse, Alice (Nicole Kidman) in New York City, no less than till a heated argument the place she reveals her sexual fantasies about one other man. Disturbed and pushed by jealousy, Harford begins a night-long sexual journey that leads him to a secretive masked ball. There, he meets attention-grabbing people and has a collection of sexual encounters that turn into more and more surreal and unsettling as his obsession leads him deeper into this world of forbidden needs.
Eyes Wide Shut is director Stanley Kubrick’s final masterpiece, because the famend filmmaker died of a coronary heart assault shortly after presenting the 1999 movie’s ultimate reduce. Much like a number of of the director’s works, the erotic drama is stuffed with symbolism and layered meanings, finally specializing in the central arc of Harford’s obsession with exploring his personal probably unknown sexual needs after his spouse’s blunt confession.
4. American Psycho (2000)
American Psycho is a traditional satirical horror movie that follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a rich New York City funding banker who, by day, indulges in a lifetime of luxurious, however by evening, enacts his violent fantasies. His obsession with appearances and materialism is contrasted along with his grotesque murders all through the movie, which chronicles Bateman’s more and more erratic conduct. By the tip, audiences will likely be questioning which elements of his actions had been actual and which had been psychotic delusions.
Also thought-about amongst the best psychological thrillers ever, American Psycho relies on Bret Easton Ellis’s eponymous novel, which is a intelligent satire of the excesses of Eighties yuppie tradition. Bateman’s obsession with materials possessions, outward appearances, and standing symbols is a illustration of how wealth and success had been – and nonetheless are – measured by superficial markers. This is seen within the tiniest particulars that border on the absurd, like his feedback on enterprise playing cards and desperation for restaurant reservations. What is hidden behind the faltering flawless facade is a sadistic violence that captures the rising ethical decay beneath a materialistic fashionable world.
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3. Whiplash (2014)
Director Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash is an award-winning drama that depicts the abusive dynamic that varieties between an bold younger jazz drummer, Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), and his ruthless teacher, Terence Fletcher (J.Okay. Simmons). Andrew, a first-year scholar on the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory, desires of changing into one of many greats. He believes that Fletcher, who’s notorious for being verbally and bodily abusive towards his college students, may help him obtain that. Fletcher does certainly push Andrew to his bodily and psychological limits, with their more and more poisonous relationship resulting in an emotional ultimate efficiency.
Whiplash is unflinching in its portrayal of the grueling pursuit of creative perfection, with literal blood, sweat, and tears sacrificed for Andrew’s single-minded aim. Fletcher is equally obsessive as a mentor who believes his abusive educating strategies can create the subsequent legendary artist, even when meaning hurting the scholar within the course of. Simmons would rightly earn an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the menacing Fletcher, along with his character and the movie as an entire elevating crucial questions concerning the romanticization of the struggling artist.
2. Vertigo (1958)
James Stewart stars as former police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson in Vertigo. He retires attributable to his debilitating worry of heights that he developed following an incident on his job. He then finds work as a personal investigator when he’s employed by an previous acquaintance, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), to comply with his spouse, Madeleine (Kim Novak), who’s behaving surprisingly. As Scottie trails Madeleine, he turns into obsessed together with her, which is why her sudden loss of life hits him laborious. The devastated Scottie later encounters Judy Barton, a lady who bears an uncanny resemblance to Madeleine.
Vertigo is one in every of director Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films, with the psychological thriller extensively thought-about to be his magnum opus. The twisty narrative and thriller surrounding Madeleine and Judy are finally pushed by an unnerving fixation on Scottie’s half. As the protagonist molds Judy into the picture of his misplaced love solely to be taught a surprising reality, the strains between actuality and phantasm blur. The 1958 film enormously advantages from Hitchcock’s route, with the grasp of suspense infusing each second with a mounting sense of dread.
1. Taxi Driver (1976)
Director Martin Scorsese‘s Taxi Driver tells the story of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a Vietnam War veteran with insomnia who now drives his cab round New York City. Day by day, Travis turns into extra enraged by the poverty and crime round him, along with his psychological well-being worsened by his failed makes an attempt at connecting with others. When he turns into obsessive about rescuing a younger intercourse employee, Iris (Jodie Foster), his anger and emotions of isolation attain their peak. His worsening disconnection with society ultimately results in his obsession with the concept that he should cleanse the town of its filth, resulting in a violent conclusion.
De Niro’s iconic portrayal of an unhinged Travis is essentially what makes Scorsese’s intense character research so terrifyingly efficient. Taxi Driver is a gritty depiction of city alienation, with the protagonist’s obsession with cleaning the town being the hopeless shot at redemption in a world dominated by crime and corruption. The 1976 movie is finest remembered for Travis’ darkish story arc, along with his psychological state’s deterioration inevitably resulting in jaw-dropping penalties.