'Obsession' review: Dark and erotic Netflix miniseries delivers sex and raunch in good measure
Mild spoilers ahead for Netflix's 'Obsession'.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Netflix has finally released the unapologetic erotic thriller mini-series 'Obsession'. Based on the book 'Damage' by Josephine Hart, Netflix's 'Obsession' tells the tale of one of the most unusual and messy passion stories of William, a well-respected doctor, and Anna, the fiance of Willam's son. This affair leads to their downfall, with a loss they cannot recover from. In this Netflix's hard-hitting erotic thriller, everything is explored, from forbidden romance to traumatic past.
Directed by Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn, Netflix's 'Obsession' stars Richard Armitage as William Farrow and Charlie Murphy as Anna Barton as the main leads. The series also stars Rish Shah as Jay Farrow, Indira Varma as Ingrid, Sonera Angel as Sally Farrow, Anil Goutam as Edward and Pippa Bennett-Warner as Peggy. With a total of four episodes, let us take a look at what this steamy yet messy mini-series was like:
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A forbidden tale of 'Obsession'
'Obsession' follows the story of William, one of the popular and talented surgeons in town, living with his loving family of wife Ingrid, two children Jay and Sally and his father-in-law, Edward. Edward wants to include William as an advisor in House of Common but William is humble and not interested.
Things change for the Farrows forever, when Jay brings his new, older girlfriend Anna. Though William gets attracted to Anna at first, he resists himself. But Anna makes her move, and both William and Anna start to have an affair which leads to the downfall of William, Anna and William's family. Things only get worse when the couple continues the affair even after Jay and Anna are engaged and even after almost being exposed. This fateful affair brings about the death of Jay, the ugly truth about Anna's past and the breaking of William's family. Vastly different from the source material, the Netflix series has devoted its time to explore on the past trauma of Anna and how it led to her destructive behaviour, instead of just using Anna as an object of desire for William.
The power-packed performances of the 'Obsession' cast
'Obsession' has a lot of positives. The erotic thriller does not beat around the bush with its screenplay. Everything is placed precisely in the right place with the right amount. The mini-series has only a limited cast, and we were able to connect with each, even though we see them less than the leads William and Anna.
The performances of the cast are the main reason for it. From Charlie Murphy's Anna finding herself again and again with her destructive behaviour; the character arc of Armitage's William going through a downfall; Shah's portrayal of the loving Jay and the betrayed Jay and Pippa as a concerned friend of Anna as Peggy, everyone stays with us throughout the journey.
However, it is Indira Varma's Ingrid that steals some of the crucial moments of the show.
Whether it is being a supportive wife to William, suspecting an affair with her husband, believing in her marriage with William, bereaving mother and being a brave woman who walks away from a disloyal marriage, Varma was tasked to portray different facets of emotions within a small screentime and she absolutely does it perfectly, like a cake-walk. The performances of the series are the main reason that makes this otherwise predictable show, engaging and watchable.
'Obsession' raises many crucial questions
Though at surface, 'Obsession' seems like a regular erotic drama. However, the series also focuses on several crucial questions. For instance, William is a perfectly reputed surgeon and has everything - wealth and a perfect family. But once he starts his affair with Anna, he throws his good qualities down the drain. William loses his good-natured character and does not even think that he has betrayed his son. Even at his son's funeral, he is waiting for a reunion with Anna, after breaking his own family. This raises a crucial question of how no matter how much money you have or how much love you have surrounding you, once an obsession takes you over, it will surely consume you. On the other hand, Anna's past trauma is explored and she does some questionable behaviour throughout the series. The series of bad decisions that Anna takes in her life and the revelation of her abusive past raise the question of the importance of dealing with a traumatic past. And the series reiterates that only when you learn to deal with the bad parts of the past will you ever have a peaceful present and future.
Though predictable, Netflix's 'Obsession' takes you on a wild ride with some hard-hitting twists and steamy love-making scenes. The Netflix series delivers you what was promised; 'Obsession' is a quick, binge-watchable series that leaves you with several questions.
All episodes of 'Obsession' is available to stream exclusively on Netflix.