“”Obsessed”” is comprised of a lot of “”a little toos,”” mostly coming out in defective character quirks. Derek (Idris Elba) and Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles) are a little too sugar-lips-snuggly-button-forever and ever married, actually playing cat and mouse through the rooms of their new abode before a little one-on-one in the mirrored bedroom (leaving the baby downstairs unattended by the lit fireplace).

The entire plot is more or less cat and mouse; playful Derek versus Sharon, freaky Lisa (Ali Larter) versus Derek, raging Sharon versus Lisa. But carrying on, Derek throughout is a little too wall-like in his incorruptibility as sexy Lisa literally attempts to strip him down in the bathroom stall at a work party.

And Lisa is a little too creepy (more like stage-five clinger) off the bat, as she slinks after him into the office; Derek says “”Are you (following) me?”” Good call Mr. Dense, and exhibit A in a long line of progressively more psychotic moves conducted by Lisa where Derek feels no real urgency to seek help, even after the co-workers start dropping like flies and Derek is flash-harassed by Lisa in his car. Right, no big deal.

Sharon remains in character stagnation until the discovery of Derek’s not-so-dirty little secret at the ER (Lisa tries to kill herself, naked, in his hotel bed; it’s nothing, really), upon which she suddenly undergoes an immediate mutation into a live firecracker. Appreciate the vigor, but perhaps a flesh-out earlier would prepare the audience for ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman 2’ in the second half of the film.

The cinematography, however, was not so “”a little too””. Actually it rocked; exceptional perspective shots and manipulation of light (as in the beginning attic scene) and focus (Derek, roofied by Lisa, and hub cap shot). Despite the missing catalyst to Lisa’s fanatical spiral, the best part of the suspense is that she’s like a demonic Energizer Bunny – she just keeps going and going and going…

Rating: ***