★
Recuperating from trauma, Jennifer remains in danger as she returns to a life she doesn't remember.
Classification: 15
A thriller that is both monotonous and banal from every conceivable concept of storytelling and filmmaking, Secret Obsession is a film that does less than the bare minimum to entice its audience and leaves a cinematic experience that does nothing but frustrates you for wasting your time. Director Peter Sullivan seems to want to tell a story that chastises the culture of toxic masculinity and shows a tenacious young woman overcoming obstacles both physical and emotional, but the final product is devoid of any gravitas or sympathy to its subject matter. The execution is reminiscent of a shabby television movie that uses the themes and imagery more for exploitative motivations than artistic ones, nothing about the narrative structure speaks to a greater notion, Secret Obsession is a film with nothing substantial to say but believes it does because it thinks it has a clever twist which it does not.
While the performers have proven themselves in other projects, Secret Obsession is not a resounding endorsement of any acting talent. The hackneyed script reduces the characters to the most mundane stereotypes with the thinnest exposition offering exposition on their character histories. Brenda Song's character is reduced of any noticeable personality due to the character's amnesia so the audience sympathy is drawn from natural compassion rather than any noticeable features that makes the character unique. Its this issue that harms much of Secret Obsession, Sullivan is relying on the audience to make an emotional connection with the characters and story rather than create moments in his own film to do it for him. An off-hand mention of Dennis Haysbert's character's missing daughter is supposed to be his motivation for the entire film but then doesn't have any satisfying conclusion in the narrative, his character just existing to provide more exposition to the audience.
The story at first glance could be exciting but quickly the glossy sheen fades away as logical faults in storytelling quickly give away the surprises intended for the later acts of the film. Sullivan wants to craft this tangled web of misinformation and false details but the apathy of the filmmaking just drives any curiosity or intrigue out of the story, its clear very quickly what Secret Obsession is building toward and you become more frustrated at the Haysbert character for not deducing it until the third act. It's one of those films that feels so shallow in its approach that there is nothing more to the film beyond its thin plotting and hollow characters. Sullivan's handling of the more adult themes can feel realistic as Vogel's performance does highlight the feeling of entitlement men can have towards women and how they reduce them to property and not as actual human beings. However, this realism quickly devolves to melodrama as clichéd action and drama ruin any potential Secret Obsession could have had in addressing the frightening realities of this behaviour.
It's boring with no redeemable features, Secret Obsession is a forgettable foray into the thriller genre. No performance to move you, no story beat to thrill you, just plodding from one scene to the next and Sullivan thinks whatever he was able to cobble together will be enough to satisfy his audience. It never is, because there is no genuine passion or thought put into this final product, its nothing more than a cheap thrill designed to prey on the fear of harassment, kidnapping and stalking.
Director: #PeterSullivan
Cast: #BrendaSong, #MikeVogel, #DennisHaysbert, #AshleyScott
Release Date: July 17th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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