Obsession (2025)
Obsession successfully takes the covetous relationship between Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarette) and transforms it into a horrific display of stolen agency and the consequences of such a theft.
Even before he broke the One Wish Willow, Bear had a pet Nikki living in a safely enclosed snowglobe somewhere near the forefront of his mind. He wanted to actualize this version of Nikki with the only barrier being her free will. Idolizing Nikki and dreaming of a future with her is much easier than taking accountability for his own life and displaying some emotional maturity, which Bear continuously fails to do. Bear is unkempt and sloppy, with his social identity organized around his awkwardness and a general air of self-pity. He also manages to kill his cat by leaving out lethal medication. He is precisely the sort of emotionally unintelligent and unethical person who would use the One Wish Willow.
The One Wish Willow itself is a clever piece of movie lore that comes with a fun prop. It works so well because you can imagine it on some kitschy shelf in any one of the hole in the wall stores you've ever been to. They are also characterized as powerful and hazardous by those who are knowledgeable about them. This is, of course, the critical means by which Bear breaks through that key barrier.
Notably, during Nikki's corrupted admission of love and reassurance that Bear didn't take advantage of her, she is cast in shadow. The lighting (and lack thereof) here is absolutely perfect, with Nikki clearly in the dark and yet captured in vivid detail. Her eyes glint in the night as she feeds Bear meaningless stories about a recent outgrowth of affection for him. This is further temptation for Bear, a hand reaching out, without will, from the darkness. He knows he should not accept, just as he knows he did take advantage of Nikki. Instead, to Bear, the moment becomes one of long awaited romance.
The sex scenes stand out as particularly disturbing for an interesting reason: they are rape scenes visually coded as consensual sex. Bear may not be forcefully holding Nikki down, but just as restraints can be physical, chemical and otherwise, Bear has deprived Nikki of the ability to say no. Whatever this version of Nikki may say, we know the real Nikki would object. And that makes things pretty clear.
One could argue Bear's use of the One Wish Willow was frivolous and without commitment; it should be noted that Bear seems to find the arrangement very accommodating. Even when he knows for certain that Nikki is not there of her free will, he persists in trying to construct snowglobe-Nikki. This is made most apparent when Nikki, in her sleep, regains partial consciousness. Her immediate request is for Bear to free her by killing her to which a spurned Bear asks, "What's so bad about being with me?"
The tragedy isn't just Nikki's loss of agency; it's that Bear could be so evil as to orchestrate it. Featuring an all-too-familiar dynamic amongst men and women, Obsession is timely in its commentary, modern in its style and cinematography, and successful in telling its tale of stolen agency.