Lifetime Review: 'I Am Watching You'
A blogger's innocent crush leads to a twisted obsession in this beautifully shot Lifetime thriller.
With February being the month of Valentine's Day, I decided to dedicate a few reviews to what Lifetime Movie Network would refer to as "Tainted Love" movies. Regulars to the channel will know what this refers to: movies about love, sex, obsession, and all that goes on when infatuation turns deadly. "Tainted Love" movies are basically what would happen if Tim Burton directed Hallmark films (though with much lighter camera work).
In the case of I Am Watching You, an innocent fling spirals into a terrifying obsession. Romance blogger Nora Nichols (Madeline Zima) is struggling to break into the literary world, while at the same time reeling from a recent breakup with her boyfriend. But one day, inspiration strikes in the form of Nora's mysterious new neighbor Lucas Wheeler (Brian Ames), a broodingly handsome photographer who gets Nora's heart fluttering. With encouragement from her friend Karen (Lilan Bowden), Nora gets to know Lucas more, and their friendship quickly blossoms into a passionate relationship that has Nora's writing mojo sparked.
But despite Nora's insistence that she's not in a position where she can have a serious relationship with Lucas, her suitor can't seem to get the message. Soon, Nora begins to realize that her lover has a much darker side to him. When her friend is attacked and Nora begins to suspect Lucas of being involved in a young woman's appearance, the young writer must fight to escape Lucas's clutches before her own story comes to a permanent end....
The plot isn't anything groundbreaking for Lifetime, but the writing keeps the film fresh and the audience entertained. Madeline Zima is cute and likable as an ambitious, if overly trusting writer, and Brian Ames (besides providing the film with delectable eye candy) gives a powerful performance as the psychotically infatuated Lucas. In addition to giving great performances, Zima and Ames also have good chemistry together, both in a character sense and in the sense that they don't look too bad during Nora and Lucas's intimate moments (don't act like that's not enticing to you....)
Another more surprising thing that stood out from I Am Watching You is the camera work. The tenser or more sensual moments of the film are excellently magnified by great lighting and expert-like camera positions that give the audience just enough to be satisfied. The definite high point of the set design would have to be Lucas's ominous yet alluring dark room, where the red lighting gives a contrast between the smoldering passion between him and Nora, and the impending doom the audience knows Nora is bound for.
That's not to say I Am Watching You is without flaw. Lesley-Anne Down's role as Nora's publisher is immensely underused and more than likely simply a marketing ploy, and the plot began to slow to a drag after Nora firmly sees that Lucas is a psycho. But thankfully, the positive aspects of the film manages to make up for the bungles that it hits along the way. With MarVista Entertainment's sketchy history of movie quality, I Am Watching You is an example of how the company has learned and improved from their mistakes.
I Am Watching You is one of Lifetime's better attempts at an erotic thriller (trust me, I'll be sure to review one of Lifetime's other less successful erotic thriller attempts sometime this month). The acting is on point, and the camera work makes the movie a visually appealing watch. A few stumbles along the way doesn't take away from the fact that I Am Watching You is a thrilling, "Tainted Love" flick that I give a glowing recommendation.
Scores: 9 out of 10 long lenses cameras.
About the Creator
Trevor Wells
Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.
Twitter: @TrevorWells98
Instagram: @trevorwells_16
Email: [email protected]
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