Obsession

Geneviève Bujold stars in Obsession, a movie where she and her young daughter (Wanda Blackman) are kidnapped for ransom.

It was directed by Brian De Palma, who enjoys giving the viewer sharp twists in the Hitchcockian style (sometimes to the point of seemingly remaking Hitch, but he's still a good storyteller in his own right).

I first heard about Obsession as a boy from my mother, who saw it in the theater with her friends during a girls' night out. She told me about the movie the next day, and my mom confessed that she didn't really care for it.

I didn't see Obsession until I was an adult (my parents were very strict about me not seeing "mature" movies as a kid). But when I finally did, I naturally latched onto the kidnapping scenes. Although Bujold would later have a much better bondage scene in Dead Ringers.

Obsession was the first movie in which I had seen Geneviève Bujold in, and I was struck at how beautiful she was.

The kidnapping scenes are shown in flashback, and it doesn't end well for the damsels.

But, as mentioned earlier, this being a De Palma film, there are plenty of twists and turns down the pike.

I was in my twenties when I finally saw Obsession, and it was interesting to watch the film and see why it didn't sit well with my mother. I couldn't compare notes with her at this time because she was deceased.

And so Obsession remains this interesting connection that I've managed to share with my mother across time. It's not my favorite Brian De Palma film, though. That would be The Untouchables and Carlito's Way.