Friday, July 3, 2026

How do movies use disturbing scenes to explore complex themes like morality and justice, and what are some notable examples?

 I just saw Obsession—and it does a bit of that.

A man gets a special stick he can break and be granted one wish. He wishes his love interest would love him more than anyone or anything in the world.

And he gets more than he bargained for:

She becomes psychotically obsessed with him as this dark psyche takes over. It shows what happens when you take someone’s autonomy away from them.

The movie is also a great commentary on codependency and toxic relationships. I caught myself laughing quite a bit, as I’d encountered a few women over the years who displayed some of these behaviors (albeit slightly less extreme).

What’s incredible is that the director was only 25 when they filmed it and they only had a ~750,000 budget. So far the film has grossed more than $300 million.

Definitely a great film.