Obsession review: Netflix's erotic BDSM thriller is excruciating to watch
NetflixThis miniseries is Netflix's latest attempt to draw in subscribers with steamy melodrama. But its tale of a man's affair with his son's girlfriend is flaccid, writes Neil Armstrong.
There is a dialogue-free scene in Obsession that is likely to excite some comment. Can you guess from its closed captions alone what is happening?
"Groans softly." "Unsettling music playing." "Unsettling music intensifies." "Sniffing. Grunting." "Moans softly." "Gasps." "Exhales sharply." "Gasps." "Unsettling music continues." "Inhales deeply. Grunts." "Belt buckle clinking." "Sobbing."
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Yes, that's right. A well-groomed, middle-aged chap, having checked into the hotel room vacated by his young lover, proceeds to writhe on the bed, hungrily sniffing the sheets and pillows, seemingly unaware that it is the practice in hotels, especially in fancy Parisian establishments, to change the bedding in between guests. He eventually apparently locates some vestige of her scent in a cushion and it sends him into a frenzy of masturbation and – I'm sorry but there's no other way to describe this – bed-humping.
From "Groans softly" to "Sobbing", the scene lasts a little over two minutes although watching it you might feel as though aeons are ticking slowly by. And if it's excruciating to watch, imagine how it must have felt to act.
However, we mustn't make fun. William Farrow (Richard Armitage) is in the grip of a destructive obsession – there was a clue in the title – and has been since he first clapped eyes on femme fatale Anna Barton in this four-part erotic thriller, which follows the recently-cancelled Sex/Life as Netflix's latest attempt to draw subscribers in with steamy melodrama.
Farrow is a brilliant surgeon. In the opening scene we are introduced to him successfully performing a complicated operation to separate coned twins.
Afterwards, he and his barrister wife Ingrid (Indira Varma) drive to her father's huge place in the country, where the very close Farrow family – William, Ingrid and their son Jay (Rish Shah) and daughter Sally (Sonera Angel) – spend a lot of time. It's the sort of place that has a tower, a large gravel drive and a grand, bifurcated staircase so we know they're a well-to-do bunch. William, you see, is a man who has it all: loving family, money, a satisfying high-powered career.
Everyone at this family gathering is keen to know more about medical researcher Jay's latest girlfriend, Anna Barton (Charlie Murphy). No-one has yet met her. "There's no way I'm exposing her to you lot," he jokes. However, his father is about to expose quite a lot of himself to her.
At the launch of a new government health initiative at the Palace of Westminster, William sees a beautiful young woman on the other side of the room. As screen tradition demands, the hubbub of the crowd momentarily falls away as their eyes lock. Wham – instant attraction! A coup de foudre. They both know it.
She slinks up to him at the bar, and gazes at him, sexily. "Hello. I'm Anna. Anna Barton," she says, sexily. "I think he’s [Jay] worried about introducing us," says William. "Oh. Should he be">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });