Obsessive Love
Six Sexy Streams We're Watching Now
Obsession can be a dangerous thing. People are human beings, not objects to be coveted, possessed, and locked away. Here are five movies, available to stream online right now, that explore the the danger, the sex, and the psychological violence of obsession.
Fear
This is the film that turned its two young stars, Reese Witherspoon and “Marky” Mark Wahlberg, into certified movie stars. Reese plays the girl next-door, and Mark plays the bad boy. It’s a typical romance: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl leaves boy, and boy shows his true colors as a violently obsessive psychopath.
The movie is amped-up 90s genre trash, but the cast is great, the plot moves quickly and hits some provocative highs, and the final showdown at the house is a must-watch. It’s not exactly Shakespeare, but it’s definitely overdue for a 21st century remake.
Fear is available on the Showtime App.
Play Misty For Me
Clint Eastwood‘s 1971 directorial debut was a far cry from the Westerns and cop dramas he was known for at the time. Play Misty For Me is a high-tension romantic thriller about radio DJ Dave Garver (Eastwood), who gets more than he bargained for when he embarks on a casual fling with Evelyn, played by then-newcomer Jessica Walter.
Evelyn is emotionally unstable and becomes obsessed with Dave, and so he tries to break off the relationship, at which point she attempts to kill herself, and it only gets crazier from there. Play Misty For Me is one of Clint’s many 1970s classics, and a strong start to a long and prosperous directorial career.
Play Misty For Me can be viewed on HBO Go.
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
In 1992, every parent in America double-checked the credentials of their babysitters, just in case they were crazy psycho killers. In The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) plays a woman who is sexually assaulted by her doctor. After the doctor commits suicide out of shame for his serial pattern of behavior, his wife seeks out revenge. She changes her name and is hired by Claire to babysit her children, at which point things really get out of hand.
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle isn’t a particularly great movie, but it’s crass, trashy, cheesy, and just scary enough to be worth your time! Plus, Rebecca De Mornay‘s 90’s bangs are just to die for! Also, the film marks an early appearance of Julianne Moore, who is unceremoniously killed in a hailstorm of falling glass.
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is currently streaming on Cinemax Go.
Her
Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson star as lovers in a complex relationship in Her. Director Spike Jonze‘s unique take on an en entirely plausible sci-fi romance has Theodore Twombly (Phoenix) falling in love with Samantha (Johansson). The only problem? She’s an Operating System with artificial intelligence. She’s basically a more powerful version of Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. She’s sentient, but completely without a human body. Theodore is a lonely depressive, so it’s easy for him to become obsessed with Samantha.
Unlike many of the entries on this list, the romance is actually played surprisingly straight, with the chemistry between Theodore and Samantha being sincere and heartfelt, if doomed by their unconventional differences. It’s a quirky and sweet movie, about fostering connections and understanding the emotional ups and downs that make up the human experience, whether you’re a person or an OS.
The Great Gatsby
Underneath all the glitz and glamour of The Great Gatsby lies a heartwrenching story of ego, obsession, and death. Whether you read the book or watch this 1974 motion picture adaptation, it always comes around to the fact that Gatsby is a broken man.
Jay Gatsby (Robert Redford) had been in love with Daisy Buchanan (Mia Farrow) since he was just a boy, and she was the driving force behind his decision to win her love by becoming rich and powerful. But he always saw her as a muse, and not as a human being with strengths and flaws. Seen through the eyes of Gatsby’s midwestern sidekick, Carraway (Sam Waterston) bares witness to the true tragedy that results in obsessive love.
The Great Gatsby is on Netflix now.
Fifty Shades Darker
It wouldn’t be a story about sexual obsession without mentioning E.L. James‘s Twilight fan fiction-turned-novel series, Fifty Shades of Grey The films certainly aren’t great but Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson sure look pretty with their clothes off!
Christian Grey has always been a bit creepy (just like his inspiration, Edward Cullen), but the film adaptation of the second book in the series, Fifty Shades Darker, hits a new low with regards to its themes of non-consensual possession and the romanticized depiction of a man breaking down the mental barriers of a woman to make her into an object. It also hurts that the sequel lacks the subtle satire and disparaging of its own source material that made Fifty Shades of Grey a more enjoyable film.
Of course, the ride’s not over yet! The final chapter in the trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed, is due out on February 9, 2018. In the meantime, Fifty Shades Darker is streaming on HBO Go.
