After being released in the UK on May 15th, 2026, Curry Barker’s film Obsession has become a spectacular hit amongst viewers. Grossing approximately £13.8m in UK and Ireland box offices, it is safe to say that the movie is both a critical and commercial success.
Obsession’s success can be attributed to numerous factors, ranging from great acting to meticulous storytelling. Obsession encompasses a multitude of themes which resonate with viewers after the end credits.
At the film’s forefront, themes of autonomy, coercion and attraction are depicted. However, a particular aspect of Barker’s film that captivates me is the theme of friendship, which I would like to dissect through the lens of Sarah’s character.
Sarah is a supporting character in Obsession. She works in a music shop with both of the protagonists and is consequently their friend. However, when the male protagonist Bear, uses the ‘One Wish Willow’ to make the woman lead, Nikki, love him more than anything in the world, it leads to the pair starting a relationship. While this is occurring, we watch Sarah’s friendship and loyalty skew in favour of Bear over Nikki.
Sarah’s character is arguably the most morally grey within the film. During an interview with Digital Trends, Sarah’s actress, Megan Lawless, states her hope for fans to “really root for her” character. Despite Lawless’ masterful acting, when viewing the events of the film through Nikki’s perspective, I find it hard to do so.
After watching Obsession for the first time, I wondered if true friendship existed within the movie. While many viewers argue for Sarah’s innocence as to what is happening to Nikki, we must face the question as to why Sarah sides with Bear.
On a surface layer viewing, it’s suggested that Sarah feels Bear is being used by Nikki for her own emotional gratification. After all, it is revealed by Sarah that Nikki is casually involved with another supporting character called Ian. In this regard, Nikki is depicted as being a good and honest friend by sharing this information with Bear. Yet we must question if Sarah’s seemingly altruistic motives are fuelled by friendship.
It is also revealed by Nikki at the start of the film that Sarah presumably has a crush on Bear. Does Sarah reveal Nikki and Ian’s history to Bear in order to be a good friend, or so that she can try to win Bear for herself? If the latter is the case, Sarah isn’t trying to be genuine, but rather, she is fuelled by her own ulterior motives.
This is made more prominent by her later treatment of Nikki when Nikki smashes her own head against a vase in a possessed fit. Despite Sarah’s assumption that Nikki is going through a mental breakdown, she does not care enough about Nikki to check up on her. Instead of doing so, Sarah reaches out to Bear and requests that he meets with her alone. Sarah does not do this with any consideration for Nikki and uses the encounter to try and convince Bear to end things with her. Sarah’s treatment of Nikki in the second half of Obsession suggests that when there is no personal gain for Sarah, friendships become a meaningless pursuit.
While I have explored this idea through Sarah’s character, this behaviour can be observed in almost all of the characters excluding Nikki, whose personality we never really get to see. The tragic nature of Obsession does not lie in the number of fatalities within the film, but rather, the fact that there is not a single genuine connection between its characters.
Perhaps if Bear hadn’t been so obsessed with Nikki despite not truly knowing her, he could have seen the potential relationship he could have had with Sarah.
Barker’s genius is displayed through the lack of communication all of the characters have amongst each other despite being so closely interwoven together. Perhaps Barker is spurring viewers to use honest communication in the pursuit of cultivating genuine connections with others.
Digital Trend’s interview with Megan Lawless: https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/exclusive-obsession-star-megan-lawless-breaks-down-sarahs-shocking-fate-fan-reactions-and-whats-next/