themoviereport.com/idris idris.themoviereport.com mrbrownmovies.com/idris

Home
The Gospel
Daddy's
Little Girls

The Reaping
28 Weeks Later
American
Gangster

This Christmas
Prom Night
RocknRolla
The Unborn
Obsessed
The Losers
Luther
Takers
The Big C
Legacy
Thor
Luther II
Ghost Rider:
Spirit of
Vengeance

Prometheus
The Pavement
Psychologist

Luther III
Pacific Rim
Thor:
The Dark World

Mandela:
Long Walk
to Freedom

Future Films
Links

driis.com

Headshell Management

High Class Problems Vol. 1

7wallace on SoundCloud

 

Obsessed
(2009)

Idris Elba as Derek Charles in Obsessed
Idris Elba as Derek Charles


It's easy to knock Steve Shill's thriller as a watered down Fatal Attraction knockoff, a fact that no one involved in the film really makes any bones about. But put genre formula cheesiness aside, and one sees the can't-miss pitch that Elba was thrown here and how he knocks it out of the park. Top billed lead? Check. Upstanding hero role? Check. Classy Hollywood leading man part for a man of color? Check. Major star as a leading lady? Check (Beyoncé Knowles). Proven commercial hook? Check. Familiar collaborators? Check (Rainforest Films). But even with so many things comfortably taken care of in place, Elba doesn't slack off and rest on merely looking the part, as he commits to selling--and succeeds--the emotional authenticity of the over-the-top theatrics as the well-meaning object of obsession for an unhinged co-worker. More than his more "classy" and acclaimed films and roles, I think his work in this film and its box office success (which, when given the slightest ounce of thought, is hardly as out-of-nowhere as so-called "expert" industry observers made it out to be), is when he started to make the Hollywood and entertainment establishment finally see him through a major leading man lens.

--Michael Dequina, September 6, 2011


Idris Elba as Derek Charles in Obsessed
Idris Elba as Derek Charles


The Gospel (2005) Daddy's Little Girls (2007) The Reaping (2007) 28 Weeks Later (2007) American Gangster (2007)
This Christmas (2007) Prom Night (2008) RocknRolla (2008) The Unborn (2009) Obsessed (2009)
The Losers (2010) Luther (2010) Takers (2010) The Big C (2010) Legacy (2010)
Thor (2011) Luther II (2011) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012) Prometheus (2012) The Pavement Psychologist (2013)
Luther III (2013) Pacific Rim (2013) Thor: The Dark World (2013) Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom


Photos courtesy Screen Gems
The Films of Idris Elba/text and site design © Michael Dequina
All images and multimedia files are copyright their respective copyright holders and no rights are given or implied
TheMovieReport.com

REVIEWS | EXTRAS | LINKS | BLOG | SUPERSTORE