\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div> \t\t\t\t\t\u201cObsession\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9Focus Features\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tBut this is where \u201cObsession\u201d gets interesting. It checks more of those boxes than its origins suggest. The film plays like a blend of \u201cGet Out,\u201d \u201cSmile\u201d and the 1993 thriller \u201cThe Crush,\u201d with a splash of the 1992 obsessive film \u201cSingle White Female.\u201d A loving throwback to the glossy, mean-spirited horror\/thrillers of the \u201990s. But more importantly, it has a director\u2019s story (aka awards narrative) tailor-made for a campaign.<\/p>\n \n\tShould \u201cObsession\u201d land a best director nomination, Barker would etch his name into the record books, sitting in the company of the youngest directors ever recognized in the category \u2014 behind only John Singleton, who was 24 years and 44 days old for 1991\u2019s \u201cBoyz n the Hood,\u201d and Orson Welles, 26 years and 279 days old for \u201cCitizen Kane\u201d in 1941. By nomination morning, Barker would be 27, a YouTube creator within striking distance of a company most film school graduates only dream about.<\/p>\n \n\tIf \u201cGet Out\u201d had Kaluuya, \u201cObsession\u201d has Inde Navarrette<\/a>. The film lives and dies by its breakout star as Nikki, the co-worker, friend and would-be love interest. It is a physical, fearless turn, one whose behavior and mannerisms were built through collaboration between Barker and his star. The screams, contortions and vocal shifts were made without CGI or artificial intelligence, and that detail is its own form of campaign currency in an era when audiences and voters alike are increasingly skeptical of digital enhancement.<\/p>\n