20 iconic film plots that are driven by obsession

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby  has been adapted several times, but arguably, the best version is the 1974 one, which stars Robert Redford as the title character. Known for his wealth and his mysterious origins, Redford’s Gatsby, as book readers know, has harbored a deep and abiding love and obsession with Daisy (played by Mia Farrow). Gatsby’s story remains a cautionary tale about how such a perilous form of love can be both romantic and destructive.

Sunset Boulevard is one of Billy Wilder’s most notable films, and it remains a key text in the canon of film noir. Gloria Swanson is nothing short of inspired as Norma Desmond, the fading movie star who ensnares William Holden’s Joe Gillis in her attempt to reclaim her former stardom and prestige. Unfortunately for her, she’s never able to see that her time has passed, and as her madness grows, she becomes ever more dangerous. The film’s ending, as Norma steps toward the waiting cameras to embrace her new stardom, is chilling and terrifying.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are nothing short of terrifying and compelling in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, which focuses on a pair of actress sisters living in a decaying mansion. Jane, portrayed by Davis, is obsessed with the idea of reclaiming the fame that she had achieved as a child, even as she is also fixated on tormenting her wheelchair-bound sister, Blanche (played by Crawford). The film dials the horror and the melodrama up and leans firmly into the horror, allowing the two lead actresses to show their range.

Notes on Scandal is the kind of film that is the perfect meeting of greatness. After all, it stars two of the best actresses of their generations: Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Dench is particularly terrifying as Barbara Covett, an older teacher whose obsession with her younger colleague (Blanchett) takes ever more sinister turns as the film goes on. It’s one of those films that is expertly paced and meticulously crafted, and it leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat from the first moment to the last.

Though based on Christina Crawford’s bestselling tell-all memoir about her abuse at the hands of her mother, Joan Crawford, Mommie Dearest is far more about Joan than it is Christina. In particular, the film highlights Joan’s obsessive behavior, both as a film star and as a mother. Faye Dunaway is truly terrifying in the role, and whether it’s obsessing over the fact that her daughter is using wire hangers to hang her dresses or clinging desperately to her fading career, Crawford is a strangely tragic sort of monster.

Double Indemnity, like many other film noirs of the 1940s, is a story very much about obsession. In this case, Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff falls into dark and obsessive love with Barbara Stanwyck’s Phyllis Dietrichson. She leads him down a very perilous road, one that leads to murder and his own eventual demise. Anchored by Billy Wilder’s direction (he also co-wrote the script) and the powerful performances from MacMurray and Stanwyck, it’s easy to see why this has subsequently come to be seen as one of the finest noirs from classic Hollywood.

Lauren Bacall is best known as one of the great actresses of classical Hollywood, but she continued to act in compelling projects even in her later years. In 1981, for example, she appeared in The Fan, portraying an actress whose life is upended by a fan’s murderous obsession with her and desire to destroy everyone around her. There’s no doubt that the film is pure pulp, but this is precisely what makes it so much fun. It also features some of Bacall’s best acting in all of her long and storied career.

Though Charles Laughton was better known for being an actor, with Night of the Hunter, he demonstrated that he was a skilled hand as a director. It’s a harrowing and noirish story of a pair of children who are pursued by Robert Mitchum’s “Preacher” Harry Powell, who believes they are the key to a fortune. Powell is a truly terrifying presence, capable of killing anyone who stands in his way, whether adult or child. It’s been subsequently seen as a masterpiece, and one can’t help but wonder what Laughton would have been able to accomplish with subsequent directing opportunities. 

H.G. Wells’ original novel The Invisible Man  has seen many adaptations, but one of the finest is also the most recent: the 2020 film starring Elisabeth Moss. In this case, the movie uses the conceit of a man discovering how to turn himself invisible to explore issues related to stalking, dysfunction, and abuse. Moss delivers a layered performance as Cecilia Kass, the main character who goes from being a victim to the hero of her own story, determined to assert her own agency in the face of an abuser.

The original version of Cape Fear is a terrifying tale of obsession focusing on Robert Mitchum’s ex-con Max Cady as he pursues Gregory Peck’s lawyer Sam Bowden. This is one of Mitchum’s most terrifying and intense performances, and his Max Cady is the type of man who will literally do anything to get the revenge he feels is rightfully his own. It’s the kind of role that Mitchum excelled at playing, and it’s deeply unsettling to watch him play a sinister game of cat-and-mouse with Peck.

Kathy Bates is nothing short of electrifying in Misery. Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, it is a story in which obsession is the main driver of the plot, since Kathy Bates’ Annie Wilkes is so obsessed with author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) that she’s willing to kidnap and torture him to get him to keep writing her favorite series. It’s a fascinating and deeply disturbing portrait of a woman driven to murderous extremes by a literary obsession, and it’s rewarding to see Kathy Bates sink her teeth into this juicy role.

Femme largely flew under the radar in 2023, but it’s still a superb piece of thriller filmmaking. Its central conflict is between drag performer Jules and Preston, the young punk who severely beats him. Determined to get revenge, Jules seduces Preston, who doesn’t realize that he is the one he beat nearly to death. Thus begins a terrible cat-and-mouse game that leaves both of them irreparably wounded. It’s a story that shows the remarkable depths to which one can go to gain revenge, and the price that vengeance takes on both the perpetrator and the victim.

Few films are as catty as All About Eve. The center of the story is the fraught relationship between aging Broadway star Margo Channing and Eve Harrington, the young ingenue who develops an obsession with her and wants to take over her life. Both Bette Davis and Anne Baxter give some of the finest performances of their respective careers, and it’s an enduring treat to see the two of them strike sparks off each other in every scene in which they appear. Delicious writing, arch performances, and competent direction combine to make this a truly classic film.

Robin Williams might have been best known for his comedic roles, but he was also remarkably talented in dramas. In One Hour Photo, for example, he portrays Sy Parrish, a photo technician whose affection for a local family soon takes a dark and sinister turn as he becomes ever more obsessed with them and the life that they lead. As he did so often, Williams captured the humanity that was often at the heart of even the most troubled and villainous of characters.

Glenn Close burst into prominence in the film Fatal Attraction, where she portrays Alex Forrest, a young woman who begins an affair with a married man and becomes obsessed with him. As her dark desires grow ever more intense, she goes to greater lengths to try to get him and terrorize his family. This is one of those roles that showcases Close’s extraordinary talents as a performer and, while her character might be the villain, such is the raw power of Close that one can’t help but find her captivating. 

Natalie Portman gives a career-best performance as Nina Sayers, a committed ballerina who develops a deep rivalry with fellow ballerina Lily (played by Mila Kunis). Thus begins a dangerous game of obsession, one which leads Sayers to slowly lose her fragile grip on sanity. This is one of those thriller films that could only have been directed by Darren Aronofsky, with a sumptuous production design and a twisty narrative that serves as a reminder of the darker, more sinister side of the artistic temperament. 

Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel Lolıta  was given the big-screen treatment in 1962. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film follows James Mason’s Humbert Humbert and his deeply disturbing obsession with teenager Lolıta (portrayed by Sue Lyon). It’s the perfect blend of tragedy and black comedy, thanks to both the original novel and to Kubrick’s direction. It’s one of those films that is designed to engender and cultivate controversy, and it still retains its power to shock and to amuse in equal measure.

Based on the bestselling series by Stephenie Meyer, the various Twilight films focus on the obsessive romance between human Bella and vampire Edward. It’s safe to say that their relationship is one that is founded on a peculiarly obsessive type of love, with each of them drawn inexorably toward the other, no matter how destructive or dangerous their desire might be. At the very least, however, the human and the vampire do manage to at least have their happy ending, 

Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz are perfectly matched as a widow and the young woman who becomes the object of her obsession. It’s one of those thrillers that often veers into camp, but this is precisely a major part of what makes it so pleasurable. Huppert is in her element, and she receives some taut direction from director Neil Marshall. It might be quite silly at times, but it is also tremendously entertaining, particularly since Huppert really sinks her teeth into the role. 

Alfred Hitchcock is at his suspenseful best in Vertigo, which focuses on James Stewart’s Scottie Ferguson as he grows obsessed with Kim Novak’s Judy. With its lush Technicolor cinematography and its twisting narrative, this is the kind of film that captures the audience and doesn’t let go. It remains one of the director’s most highly acclaimed films — it is often regarded as one of the best films ever — and it is the perfect blend of subject matter, director, and stars. As so often in Hitchcock,desire is a dangerous thing, indeed.