Seven Films About Obsession

Obsession is one of cinema’s most dependable subjects, because it gives a character a clear want and an even clearer price. Here are seven films that understand both.

1. Whiplash (2014)

A young drummer and a ruthless teacher, and a question the film never answers cleanly: is the cruelty the cost of greatness, or just cruelty? Read our review.

2. The Prestige (2006)

Two magicians spend a lifetime trying to ruin each other, and the trick at the centre of it costs far more than the applause is worth. Read our review.

3. Rush (2013)

Hunt and Lauda need each other precisely because they cannot stand each other. The rivalry makes both of them better. Read our review.

4. Memento (2000)

Obsession as a structure: a man who cannot form new memories and cannot stop hunting. Read our review.

5. Fight Club (1999)

Less about fighting than about what a person will build to avoid feeling empty. Read our review.

6. Senna (2010)

Built entirely from archive footage, and still one of the most intimate portraits of a driven person ever made. Read our review.

7. Cloud Atlas (2012)

Six stories, one pursuit repeated across centuries: the urge to finish something larger than yourself. Read our review.