Obsession

I watched to the end. I didn't give up half-way though. That is all I can say about this movie. It is about how a woman insidiously worms herself into another's life slowly. The acting is acceptable. The plot is quite standard. Cage is old and fat, but more importantly, his acting is mediocre. Yes, I will watch it once.

Katie (Nicky Whelan) is a mother whom has recently escaped from an abusive relationship. Katie ends up befriending wealthy couple Angela (Gina Gershon) and Brian (Nicolas Cage) and stays in their guest house whilst serving as their nanny. Initially all is well, but the couple start to get suspicious of Katie when they start to learn that she's hiding a dark secret...

The set-up isn't a bad one and in some ways this film reminded me of 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle', but despite an intriguing set-up the film doesn't contain much in the way of audience involvement. There is some mystery with Katie's character, but the film reveals too much too soon which ultimately kills much of the suspense. The main story also lacks credibility and requires a leap of faith to be able to accept what you're seeing is even remotely believable; a couple allowing a stranger to be their nanny without carrying out any kind of background checks first???

The tempo picks up slightly towards the end, but by this point I'd already lost interest in the story (mainly down to the drawn-out first half of the picture where next to nothing actually happens). I also wasn't impressed by Jonathan Baker's direction which was far too leisurely and I also wasn't impressed by the art-house pretentious feel that the film had as a whole.

The acting isn't too bad though with Whelan and Gershon both being the standout's here. Nic Cage is the big named actor here, but the filmmakers waste him here by just having him hanging round in the background (he's never sufficiently developed and isn't given the chance to make any kind of impression on the picture). The cynic in me thinks that he may have only been cast in the film as a gimmick to make the film appeal to a wider audience.

FINAL VERDICT; skip this one and watch The Hand That Rocks The Cradle instead.

I'm not sure who decided to have Jonathan Baker direct this film, but it was a huge mistake. Considering he was also the producer, he should have just left it at that - and the small role he also had as a member of the cast (Barry). Was it too much responsibility for one novice filmmaker to undertake? Certainly. Was it a mistake to have him in this type of film as his directorial debut? Absolutely.

The pace of this film was *very* slow. Had I played this at 1.5x faster speed, it may have been more enjoyable. His selection of the score was terrible, if not clearly absent in parts that it should have been present.

The story itself, although done before, did hold my attention and I found it interesting, primarily from the only actor that was the most convincing, Nicky Whelan as Katie. Clearly she is the one that held this movie together.

Now of course, Faye Dunaway's small role was performed on point, but that comes expected with an actor of her caliber.

What was disappointing however was the rest of the cast, particularly Gina Gershon as Angela, and Nicolas Cage as Brian.

I'm a fan of Gina, but I felt she struggled with her role in this one, just as Nicolas did, of which I am also a long time fan of his. I have to admit, this is the first film I actually wished Mr. Cage over- acted his performance as he is well know to do so in his previous films.

What's more shocking is how these two seasoned A-list actors accepted these roles. I would assume after reading the script, it sounded much better than it was directed, so thus their lack of excitement and convincement in their roles I blame fully on the director.

Had this film been directed by someone else, I feel it would have been a huge success and much more enjoyable.

At the end of the day, Jonathan Baker can add an undeserved notch to his directors chair, Nicky Whelan can add a well acted and deserved positive entry to her acting resume, and Nicolas Cage and Gina Gershon should hide this notch from their actors chairs.

A generous 7/10 for an interesting script, held together primarily by Nicky Whelan. It's a shame this film ended up as a lost opportunity to be much greater. For that matter, it's inconceivable.

56 year old Gina and 54 year old Nick as new parents. Really? Are you kidding? This is getting silly. I understand the need to draw in eyeballs with known talent but come on. Gina's mother in law character is Faye Dunaway who's only 11 years older. There's only so much soft focus and cake makeup you slather on to cover that. And Nick? Shoe polish in your hair is not a good look. I get it, you owe like a zillion dollars and you have to work like a dog but why not look for parts for a guy your age.

The most inconceivable thing about this film is somebody having such an incredibly flat stomach and being so mobile right after having a C-section. In all seriousness, this absurdity is something that needs to be addressed in the film industry but there we go...

Otherwise, the story is interesting enough, relatively slow-paced (running time needn't have been so long - not that it was long, but it was too long for what this film is). There were unnecessary sub-plots.

Acting was OK, Nicky Whelan is used to doing over-the-top dramatic plots from her time on Neighbours, so did perfectly well here. Why have an A-lister like NC involved? Why not, I suppose.

All in all, it was pretty meh. Another user likened it to a Lifetime movie and they hit the nail on the head. Lifetime movies are an occasional guilty pleasure of mine, so I finished the film more or less satiated. Just don't see Nick Cage's name and think you're getting a blockbuster.