Studio Cut

Beyonce Knowles (“Dreamgirls”) has an accomplished and steadily growing acting resume, but her latest, Columbia Pictures’ erotic thriller “Obsessed” marks a new direction for the performer.  “This was definitely different for me,” Knowles says.  “This is a psychological thriller, but it’s not just any thriller.  It’s very smart and not typical.”

To be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4 & Greenbelt 3), “Obsessed” revolves around Derek Charles (Idris Elba), a successful asset manager who has just received a huge promotion, and is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage to the beautiful Sharon (Knowles).  But when Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp worker, starts stalking Derek, all the things he’s worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy.

“Obsessed” is Knowles’ first purely dramatic role portraying a character other than a singer or performer.  “This is the deepest I’ve ever gone to be prepared for a film,” she says.  “It’s not about anything but the emotion and psychology of the relationship between Derek and Sharon.”

“I knew that she was ambitious for it,” says director Steve Shill.  “I knew she wanted to do it, and it was nothing but a great pleasure to sit there and watch her.  She fell on it like a tiger.  She brings all the energy to this that she brings to her stage performances, plus a freshness and authenticity – it’s absolutely breathtaking.  She brought all the skill of someone who’s been doing it for 20 years.”

In preparing for her role, Knowles challenged herself to convey as much meaning as possible in each scene.  “I wanted to make sure each scene had a purpose, a conflict.  I didn’t want it to be typical; I wanted it to stand out.  I worked closely with the filmmakers, dissecting and understanding the meaning and the purpose of each scene.”

Knowles was instantly attracted to the role because of Sharon’s strength and empowerment in the story.  “Usually in a movie like this, the man in the end comes and saves the day,” Knowles says.  “What I loved was how Sharon handles herself.  She gets that out-of-body strength we have when we have to protect people we love – and she saves the day.”

In describing her character further, Knowles says, “Sharon is a mother and wife, but she used to be her husband’s assistant, which is really interesting.  They became best friends and she knows him as well as he knows himself.”  In the film, that depth of understanding is what causes Sharon to start wondering if her husband is telling her the full story.  “All the little games he would play with the other women, she was right there,” she says.  “So when something strange happens with the temp, Lisa, she has this intuition.  He plays it off, but when she finds out the relationship is a little different from what he said, she gets very suspicious.  She knows her man.  They have an ultimate trust, so when that trust is betrayed…that’s the turning point for Sharon in the film.”

“Obsessed” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to  see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.