My precious... Follow your passion — the oh so inspiring sage piece of advice that changes people's lifes. One Oscar acceptance speech after another "follow your passion"... the greats talk and have spoken about passion. But when does passion become an obsession? When does love become the ugly face of jealousy, when does ambition become a self-destructive frenzy obliterating everyone in its perimeter? The bordes fade and become blurred — the obsessed are being celebrated, the passionate are laughed at. You have to become your goal in order to fulfill it, you have to work harder, longer, better, faster than anyone else. Otherwise you're a nobody, a failure, a rotten piece of unmet potential having squandered the only thing that matters — greatness. Possessed by the beauty of an idea, an eager desire — the hope in mind of transcending this contemptible present self that you are the only witness to experiencing the warped never-ending rise of success and failure — please god, not failure. Cathartic utopia Those watching the unstoppable nightmare unfold on screen hope for redemption — a happy ending, catharsis maybe. We watch them descend into their cave of irrational obsessive madness hoping for them to climb back out reaching for the sun leaving the shadows behind. But once the all-consuming force has poisened the core, catharsis becomes a utopian wish uttered only softly and quietly into the noise of the compulsive mania that has taken over. What does it mean to achieve a goal — is the mere achievement of said goal no matter the consequences an indisputable and final success? Some will run blindly into their fate conquering their mountain in the end dyingly, no breaths left to breathe, no goals left to achieve. Can that be considered a victory? Having slain the dragon, but going down with it, alongside the monster — maybe even having become one yourself. Can that be considered honorable? Then what would be the alternative — to give up?... hm. BLACK SWAN — ballett obsession — the psychological and physical décadence behind the facade of beauty and grace
WHIPLASH — musical obsession — a drummer descending into his own hell created by his ever-lasting ambition and the psychological abuse of his bandleader
BLOW UP — crime obsession — a photographer obsesses over an alleged murder he might have witnessed by taking a photograph, all by coincidence
LA DOLCE VITA — media/star obsession — paparazzi, society and media obsessing over stars explored in this masterful classic by Federico Fellini
THE LIGHTHOUSE — power obsession — two workers at a small island fall into insanity ending in a rampage of violence obsessing over their loneliness and the wickedness and power of the other
THE NEON DEMON — beauty obsession — a young model obsesses over her own beauty driven by an even more obsessive industry
SAINT MAUD — religious obsession — a young nurse loses herself to her zelotist obsession and relationship to god and her faith
THE PRESTIGE — artistic obsession — two magician artists begin an obsessive duel ever trying to exceed and surpass the other... no matter what it might take
THERE WILL BE BLOOD — power/money obsession — an oil man tries to drink everybody's milkshake
RAW — cannibalistic obsession — the magnetic force of human flesh [metaphorical an exploration of feminin sexuality in modern society]
SUNSET BOULEVARD — fame obsession — an old "has-been" hollywood star from the early age of silent film is ready for her final close-up
DOGTOOTH — utopian/idyll/possession/control obsession — a greek family lives completely sealed off from the outside world in their home. The children are not allowed to got out while the parents come up with the strangest concepts of what this evil outside world might be like.
SOME HONORABLE MENTIONS Nightcrawler Man on Wire Gone Girl M American Psycho One Hour Photo The talented Mr. Ripley/Plein soleil Wolf of Wall Street
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