The Obsessed (The Best of Me) Review from Bad Trip Bros
Directed by: Domiziano Cristopharo, Iva Cakalli, Jacopo Tomassini
Written by: Domiziano Cristopharo, Andrea Cavaletto, Iva Cakalli
Produced by: Bad Trip Bros
Cinematography by: Domiziano Cristopharo
Editing by: Domiziano Cristopharo
Music by: Antony Coia, Susan DiBona
Special Effects by: Jacopo Tomassini, Iva Cakalli, Domiziano Cristopharo
Cast: Jacopo Tomassini, Elisa Carrera, Bjordi Mezani, Dashnor Cakalli, Grace.
Year: 2019
Country: Italy
Language: English
Color: Color
Runtime: 1h 27min
Studio: BAD TRIP Bros.
I remember reporting on The Obsessed a while ago, any upcoming work of art by Severed Cinema regular, Domiziano Cristopharo is destined to be a wonderful head turner and talking point for hardcore fans. Much more so this time around, because this is quite unlike anything we’ve seen prior, and it’s a group effort.
Let’s meet Ricardo (Jacopo Tomassini), who is a lonely man owned by a handful of cute cats plus a dog as company. He lives with a huge collection of DVDs and his heroin habit, which, as we watch, he totally botches up so he resorts to chugging whisky ‘til he doses off, surrounded by his pets. Beforehand, he wrote a letter which by the looks of it, he won’t send, to someone he is obsessed with.
It doesn’t look like he feeds the cats much — any chance of food and they circle him (this is important later on). What we learn by his surroundings is he is, or was, an artist. His obsession falls at the doorstep of a lady called Eva. She is famous, in magazines, gorgeous, pouting, and a singer. Ricardo collects mags, and sometimes hears her songs playing in random places.
So, ladies and gentlemen, what’s the first thing you do when your inner mental world begins to slowly decay? It’s mandatory of course to remove your hair and beard. Don’t forget your eyebrows. Come on, it worked for Pink (Bob Geldoff) in Floyd’s, The Wall! Oh…my…God, the ominous music crawls into you. The next level of this transformation is to apply glittery make-up and wax lyrical about God into a handheld camera. Works every time.
As we progress (or in Richardo’s case, regress) we have some quirky stop motion animation, reminding me of the great Jan Svankmajer, which is part of the hallucinations poor Richardo bears witness to. His world shatters (as Night of the Living Dead plays on the TV) as he holds in his hands a magazine announcing his beloved, Eva, has found someone else. “Eva! You bitch! How could you do this to me?!” he sobs into his camera. When, at one point, he begins to alter and reshape into a feline – not forgetting the grim self-mutilation with a razor, you know this movie isn’t going to let you go easily as we go down further…
The gore is at a minimum, served up only now and then. The horrors are far deeper and complex than lashings of blood. In fact, I wouldn’t categorise The Obsessed as a horror film, as such. Yes, there’s razor cuts and glass in bare feet, plus some absolutely fantastic special effects work here and there, but I’d see this more as a drama or a tragedy. The Obsessed would adapt to the stage perfectly being it is mostly in one place and mainly with one person.
Ever since I watched Nekromantik way back in 1991, and became captivated by its music, soundtracks have served as an important ingredient when I watch a film with a certain mood to it. The way to my heart is by committing beautiful tunes which fit the ambience of the work. Domiziano and chums have crafted a remarkable sculpture of low key sadness, aided by the performances, choice of angles (there’s just something so telling in a movie that Domiziano has touched, if you went in unbeknown, you’d figure out early on it’s a Domiziano flick) and that music – Antony Coia, you are by far one of the greatest composers I have ever heard. Susan DiBona – what a sublime voice.
Ricardo is a very convincing soul-wrenching individual. Painted as almost a shadow early on in the film, a man just floating, his habit and general mental state bringing us to his level as we watch. Domiziano has Ricardo, unlike the drug addicted torturer in Xpiation (see review here) portrayed with painful realism. I worked for a long time alongside drug addicts and other fallouts from society, so when I saw Ricardo, I felt him, right down to his heavy lidded nodding.
Which leads into my next paragraph of praise. Jacopo Tomassini is a revelation! His simple but commanding performance shines throughout. Mainly a make-up kind of bloke, the fact this is actually his first big role is pretty impressive. It takes a lot to be the central dot on the screen through such an emotional journey, and Jacopo truly raises his head to the light.
“Do you think you can hurt me? You couldn’t do that to me, Eva. You couldn’t do it to me! Nothing…. I feel nothing…. That fuckin’ nigger, Eva, he is your happiness, right? You are wrong, bitch! I am your happiness, Eva. You are my happiness… nothing can be between me and you….”
What is, all said and done, a story simply told, holds your attention in a vice grip. Richardo descends deeper into a grim world of hallucinations and sheer agony, which is sometimes part Videodrome, Naked Lunch, and part The Jackson’s ‘Torture’ promo.
I will say this, anybody striding into this dark room thinking they know what to expect will crawl out sobbing afterwards. The Obsessed is a nihilistic banquet of sullen imagery. Domiziano, Jacopo, and Iva serves the delights on a dirty plate, which makes your appetite and taste buds more alive.
