Oha

/ March 29, 2023

And there is the trailer for Netflix Obsession. 

*gulps*

Funny that this has just dropped right as I am watching clips of the 1992 feature film (after having read Herba’s review of the original film). Some of the scenes in the Netflix trailer look very close to the Louis Malle film. Not sure what my reaction is, yet. I kind of need to bring my heartbeat down right now 😂

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62 thoughts on “Oha”

    • My curiosity is piqued. Up until now I have been quite anti. But I can see from the trailer that this role would be a tempting challenge for a mature and experienced actor. I’m sure Richard will bring nuance to the character, going deeper than skin-deep. (I’m convincing myself here 😂)

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  2. Cough, splutter….
    But I’m still not convinced by the idea of the damaged woman who wrecks men… etc. I get the challenge for him to play a role like that. But..

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    • It’s Adam and Eve over and over again. The stereotypical woman who tempts and destroys. We’ll see how it plays out in this script which has supposedly been written by a woman. I hope she has made sure not to step into that old trap…

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  4. I just saw this two days ago and thought “Wow, Richard is expanding his acting repertory!” And of course I thought of all the nekkid Richie shots that would be coming our way- lol!

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    • Not sure whether this is really something entirely different from what he has done before. The character looks to me like his usual fare – suave man with a hint of danger. But the deliberately raunchy nature of this “erotic thriller” may be something new for him. And us 😬

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      • Just watched trailer properly, see what you mean! I understand some of your unease; watching the trailer made me feel quite the voyeur.
        I hope this is an intelligently acted production which induces a depth of feeling in the character portrayal. I say this because I saw a hookie video on YouTube of the Man from Rome. I thought Richard’s performance as Father Quart was underwhelming in an overall mediocre production. IMO, many of his performances in last 6-7 years have been forgettable. I just hope that his performance in Obsession will be memorable irrespective of whether his pants are up or down!

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        • LOL your last sentence. I trust that RA knows what he is doing with this kind of material. I think there is much scope in this for him to “peel back the layers” (…) of a character that is unable to reign in his desires.
          Some of Richard’s work in the past few years has passed me by – not my genre (The Lodge) or taste (Man from Rome). It’ll be interesting to see how this production holds up.

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  7. I’m good with explicit content, so no complaints there. And I like that he plays a man his own age. That’s not always a given.

    I personally wish he did something happy at some point, but that’s not his bag. Oh well. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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    • I take the “age appropriate casting”! Reserving judgment on the explicitness (and appropriateness thereof) of the show. I’m mainly peeved about having to watch a project of his that *may* have an undercurrent of misogyny. If his character comes out of the thing as a victim of the “ruthless, young woman, using sex as a weapon”, I’ll be pissed off.

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      • I doubt I’ll be shocked by the quote-unquote explicit nature. I read about 280 romance novels last year. Of course there will be no love or HEA here. *sob* He’s really not making my wishes come true and never will.

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        • I don’t think I will be shocked by the nudity or explicit sex as such. (Nothing can, since my excessive reading of RH/Guy slash fan fic back in the day 😂) I have a million pretentious reasons why I am hesitant, but it basically boils down to me being a prude 😬.

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        • I am holding my breath on that. Scripts often deviate from the original material. Add to that the fact that the book was written (albeit by a woman) in the early 1990s. We are 30 years down the road and the scriptwriter for the show is a woman, too. I have high hopes that she has not lived under a rock when #metoo happened and the world became aware that there is more to film (and film audiences) than only the male gaze…

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    • I did enjoy Vicar of Dibley, but it now seems odd to me to see him smile do much on screen? In interviews, he just guffaws with laughter rather than showing his teeth? 🤔😬 It’s my problem though, not his. I’d really love him to be a leas in musical theatre, but I just don’t think he’ll do that – too much like his chorus line / swing days, that he clearly wanted to get away from? 🥴

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      • Funnily enough, Richard did say that he really loved working on VoD because he was allowed to laugh so much, and because the cast laughed so much during filming. I also think that he has somehow convinced himself that he acts better (and looks better?) when he’s brooding and scowling. Self-fulfilling prophecy? I’d love to see him in a straightforward, simple, conventional rom-com. I don’t think a musical is ever on the cards again.

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    • This is really hypocritical of me, but I have no issue with explicit content in written form. But visuals? Not so sure. There is a number of reasons why I am feeling shy about it rn (and maybe I will have to explore that in writing. I am curious why I am turning into a prude in my dotage.)
      I have the sneaky suspicion that I might enjoy the nudity more if it was in context of a relationship based on love rather than lust. But disclaimer – that’s a bit vanilla in itself, and I’m aware of it…

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      • Intact all. That why I read Romance (as in category romance). The sex isn’t an end in itself—it exist on the page for a reason. Critics of the genre often discount that. I just like the endorphins. I honestly doubt ill get much happy from this, but I’ll enjoy his fine form nevertheless.

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  8. This falls into the category of things I would never watch if RA wasn’t in it, but that I view as another chance to see him stretch his acting chops. I tire of remakes (they show lack of imagination, and in this case, how could you top a Malle adaptation?). But I always love seeing Richard do anything on Netflix just because of the incredible exposure (no pun intended in this case…). Also, this is terrible, but I confess that I’m sort of enjoying the somewhat less uniform opinions from RA fans on this project (esp in light of the trailer release) just because that hasn’t happened in awhile and it’s more interesting than everyone heaping love on it. 😉 I’m super-curious to hear what Richard will say about this project in interviews, if there are any.

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    • Thanks for this really interesting comment, Piffle. Lots to reply to.
      Funnily enough, I have a sneaky feeling that I might be more likely to watch an erotic thriller that *doesn’t* have RA in it. 😂 Bad fangirl? Or a case of “after 10 years of fangirling I feel so familiar with RA that it is a case of not wanting to see him perform intimacy”. Similar to the horror of walking in on your parents having sex 😁. (Superweird where my brain is going with this.)
      I agree on the lack of originality of remakes in general. As for Malle – the way he staged the story was indeed masterful. Fabulous casting, great cinematography. Hard to top that. However, the early 90s were very much “male gaze”, so I am hoping for a less misogynist interpretation thanks to a female scriptwriter. That *could* make this adaptation entirely different (although the trailer did not really make me think that Anna has been massively reinterpreted).
      Having watched the trailer, I can totally see why this project might have interested RA from an “art and craft” POV. Nudity and intimacy are so difficult to portray on film. It’s definitely an opportunity for him to learn and lean into a hypersensitive performance. He’s just the right man for that, I think.
      As for the discussion – that hadn’t occurred to me, but I have to agree with you. It is actually interesting to discuss a project that has not been heaped with praise from the get-go. An opportunity to delve deeper into analysis and debate. It has been a while since we have done much deep-diving…

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  9. 😉 Guylty, I see you want us to convince you into it. We will gladly do it 😊. Come on, you’ve even seen Red Dragon, and this looks like more fun. And it won’t be so much fun without you. Yesterday I read someone write that the film is supposed to be similar to another production that gave a lot of money but had no content, but I hoped it wasn’t true because the teaser already was much better. Today’s trailer dispelled my doubts, because it looks like it is much better made and with a plot. And now I now why the intimacy coordinator for this movie posted that we are not ready for it. She was a bit right, because I was picking my jaw up off the floor a bit 😅. My only problem is that I somehow find his wife in the movie prettier than his new obsession. But I don’t need to be convinced into it, I have to be stopped 😂. Let’s hope the movie will be a good one.

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    • Hahaha, you have read between the lines, Graza. Yes, please, convince me. 😉
      Mind you, my reservations are purely academic. I may be declaring my doubts here, but when the day comes, I’ll be watching the show just like (almost) everybody else.
      I’m sure Netflix has thrown enough money at this adaptation to give it a high production value. They are marketing the show aggressively enough (although I did not appreciate the Netflix tweet about “daddy issues”. APM on high alert 😂).
      Not sure what the intimacy coordinator meant by “not ready for it”. It’s not as if we haven’t seen explicit sex scenes before… I take that with a grain of salt.

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  10. Guylty, I am feeling some of the same misgivings or anxiety or trepidation you are about this role for him. It’s not a matter of the # of yrs in the fandom (I have been here less than two) but in my case feeling protective of his career. Wouldn’t want him to be typecast. But perhaps I’m being too sensitive on his behalf. I’m no prude, but I took him at his word when he said he didn’t want to be considered for roles based on his physical appearance. If this is an artistic decision on his part, and it won’t harm his future prospects, more power to him. However, I’d just like to add vis-a-vis all his past “shirt off” remarks: liar, liar, pants on fire! 🤣

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    • Those pants are burning bright 😂. He’s said that so many times… Methinks the man doth protest too much 😉. However, with all due respect to RA, I think it’s a bit too late for him to be typecast for roles in the nip, so I don’t really worry for his career. If anything, his willingness to tackle such a challenging role will add to his impeccable reputation. As much as I have expressed my reservations, I have to concede that his role choices have always been interesting (in the best sense of the word). Hopefully this will also turn out to be a case of widening his audience’s horizons…

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      • And he did say he has plenty of curiosity left. Maybe this is his way of satisfying that curiosity and seeing where it takes him. No more, no less. Fingers crossed. If nothing else, it’s got everyone talking about him (not that we weren’t before!) 🤣

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  11. First reaction….”watch again”….yes please….. (I may or or may not return with a more articulate contribution to the conversation lol!)

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  12. Richard seems to get tied-up with curious frequency in his roles! Bondage, illicit sex, I can’t wait to see him in this, and will see it as a fantasy piece. Hopefully it will give RA more exposure (apart from flesh), it is already generating hilarious headlines, ‘Richard Armitage strips naked and romps with his son’s girlfriend’!

    I am curious though really why the tile was changed to Obsession when the point has been emphasised about the damage the affair causes.

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  13. Pingback: Expectations, Hopes, Trepidations | Guylty Pleasure

  15. Thanks for the mention!

    I’ll watch this – of course. And hope to be positively surprised after the movie with Binoche and Irons was only soso in my opinion

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  16. From the get go, this has never been a project for me. I remember the Irons/Binoche movie coming out and everyone wanting to see it but me and it’s the same with this one for me. I don’t mind the sex so much, it’s just this love triangle thing has never ever tempted me and with a father and son involved, to boot. Ugh. And yeah, boohoo, bad woman for tempting men that way (rolling eyes)… But it’s Richard, so I will watch this. And yes, also hope that one day he’ll still make a nice solid romcom for a change.

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    • But it’s Richard. (Butt is Richard’s 😂) Exactly. At least we have followed his career long enough to know he chooses his roles carefully and delivers believable and meaningful performances. Who knows, maybe the psychological dimension will be presented in such a way that the explicit nature of the material will become secondary. With the “erotic thriller” ticked off his list, maybe Richard can move on to another genre not yet covered by his career… and no, I don’t mean Westerns, sports and adventure, but rom-com.

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        • I’d be on for that. And without sounding too prudish, but I did like very much how the (female) director of The Stranger visualised the adultery scenes between Adam and his lover without any nudity. It made for a very sensual and clear characterisation.

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