Obsession…
Posted by bbc on 02 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: heard in the park blocks, movies
A few days ago I overheard a couple talking as they waited for the streetcar. The original topic of their conversation wasn’t clear, but the final line was “It’s obsessions that run the world.”
They could have been talking about politics, given this election year, or it could have been something else altogether. Such as movies.
I admit to having some mild obsessions myself – such as the frantic attempt to see as many films as possible during our annual international film festival. But mine isn’t obsession with a capital O; it’s more the small scale variety.
The capital O kind comes with having your sights set on some goal and obliterating anything in your path to obtaining it. Which ties in neatly with the movie topic because I’ve just seen “There Will Be Blood.” There’s an example of Obsession. Daniel Plainview (a wonderful name) intends to succeed and nothing will stand in the way of that – certainly not other people. Plainview is a great name – both obvious and ironic. He seems to be a simple, straightforward man, but anyone who stands between him and his success finds out that their “plain view” of him is wrong. He’s much more dangerous than he seems.
On the other hand, his obsession and focus on success is plainly obvious. You don’t need to watch him long to see that nothing else actually matters to him. The other participants in these dramas don’t seem to realize that what he cares about really is in plain view. There’s not much character development or focus on the others in this film. It’s almost all Daniel Day Lewis in an amazing performance.
See it for that performance and for a great example of pure Obsession.
My desk was behind this column.