ladymidath
Okay, I first saw this movie years ago mainly because it had Jeff Goldblum in it and I do love his acting style.Twisted Obsession is one of his more interesting films and certainly one of his more perverse ones.Based on the novel, The Dream Of The Mad Monkey, it tells the story of an American screen writer, Dan Gillis (Jeff Goldblum) who is hired to write a script. He becomes obsessed with the young directer Malcolm who is in an incestuous relationship with his beautiful sister Jenny. Thing begin to spiral out of control and soon he is trapped.Jeff Goldblum as usual gives a fine performance as the single father whose wife recently walked out leaving him to care for his young son.Miranda Richardson as Marilyn, his disabled agent is great as well. Both Dexter Fletcher as Malcolm Greene and Liza Walker as his sister Jenny Greene give good solid performances but to be honest, this is really Jeff Goldblum's film.This isn't a movie for all tastes, the buildup is slow and there is not a lot of action, but the story is atmospheric with a real underlying sense of creepiness that makes it interesting. While it is not as good as The Deadly Mr Frost, I think you will find it worthwhile.
Wizard-8
"Twisted Obsession" is without doubt one of the worst movies that I've seen in a long, long, time. It's obviously an attempt to emulate the kind of movies that Alfred Hitchcock made (the musical score, for one thing, sounds very Bernard Herrmannesque), but it fails in every way you can think of. Jeff Goldblum, for one thing, is extremely miscast, sticking out like a sore thumb and not blending in with the scenery or other actors. Possibly his bad performance is due to the fact that the screenplay is a sorry mess - for much of the movie, NOTHING of serious consequence happens! Things start to happen towards the end, but they are muddled and confusing, so much so that I didn't know what to think when the end credits suddenly started to roll. If you are looking for a pointless way to waste 103 minutes, here's your movie.
theodorbjork
The plot: Writer, Dan Gillis, is hired to write a script for a money obsessed producer and a half-crazed director (and subsequently his sister) He soon realizes something is wrong, and that this film should not have been written. This leads to a confusing, and enigmatic journey trough the dark alleys of Paris. Greed, lust and insanity shows itself at very corner, and the movie becomes more about anything else than the movie itself. We never actually see the movie, and with good reason, instead we are left with an idea of a; half-pornographic, psychotic and depressing storyline. But, as many got wrong, it's not about the movies, the film is about people, their greed, lust and insanity, their madness and they way nothing is as it seems. Beware! It's one of those films where you can't trust anybody (except Jeff of course)I can't see how nobody likes this. Obviously if you are looking for Die Hard or a commercial action thriller you ARE going to be let down. This is nothing of the sort. It's an: intelligent, fascinating, psychotic, confusing, disturbing and utmost bizarre story. Then again isn't life all those things? The film is wonderfully executed, with fascinating shots and angels. If I would complain about anything it's the quality of film, and the fact that 90% of all scenes are faded out, which gives it an amateurish feel. But maybe that's what they wanted.This is a different movie, an almost neorealistic movie, it's a masterpiece of writing, and the acting is superb.I suggest you set of one evening to see this film. Preferably a dark a rainy night, cause this will scare the living daylight out of you.One thing a commenter commented was: it constantly leads to something and then stops. Some may not like this, I thought it was incredible. It's slightly Wagnerian! (Lot's of huffs and puffs, lots of build up, and never any release, never any release of the climax, it just lingers in the air until it fades away.)If you like realistic yet bizarre films, if you like a great story see this!
gridoon
This movie holds your interest for quite a while, with its eccentric and enigmatic characters, atmospheric direction and first-rate acting by Jeff Goldblum and Miranda Richardson (Lisa Walker is kind of weak though, as the nymphet). But eventually it becomes clear that the story leads nowhere. Its "title history" is a giveaway: you can find it listed under either "The Mad Monkey" (unattractive and meaningless - it's only the title of a fictional movie we learn nothing about) or "Twisted Obsession" (more "suggestive" and commercial)....but actually it doesn't matter what it's called, because it ultimately isn't ABOUT anything in particular. (**)