Written And Directed by Alex Russell
Oliver (to Matthew): "I guess that means you're like my best friend."
Catching up with movies, this one's due to make its debut on HBO Max this month. It's been on my list for a while and it's a tale about toxic friendships.
You've got two men. There's aspiring singer/musician Oliver (Archie Madekwe) who definitely wanted to have a huge career but found himself surrounded by too many yes men. To be fair that wasn't something Oliver seemed to be that bothered about for most of the movie.
On the other hand, there's also retail employee Matthew Morning (Théodore Pellerin) and to be fair, the movie was more geared towards his obsession with Oliver than anything. Matthew was desperate to be a part of Oliver's life, no matter what.
At first, Matthew succeeded in doing just that. He bonded with Oliver over obscure music, got the backstage pass and found a way to make himself vital by helping Oliver with his documentary. Despite the fact that some of Oliver's crew were a bit wary of him, things were going Matthew's way.
Where it went wrong was Matthew reluctantly agreeing to let his former co-worker Jamie (Sunny Suljic) into Oliver's world as well. This brought Matthew's jealous side and it had been up to Shai (Havana Rose Liu) to tell Matthew that he was no longer part of the group.
Of course Matthew wasn't going to accept that and created a scenario that forced Oliver into taking him back into the group. There's a real battle of wills between Oliver and Matthew but the latter made a point about wanting it more. Matthew wanting it more might have compromised his morality but it certainly got the desired results throughout.
- Matthew's only family figure was his grandmother, who appeared in a few scenes. Despite the premise, Matthew was seemingly straight.
- Oliver didn't have supportive parents when it came to his music career. He also feared being misunderstood the most.
- Standout music: Oliver's Love And Obsession was fitting considering the events of this movie.
- Chronology: Mostly set in Los Angeles but there was a trip to London and the movie ended with Oliver being a Grammy nominee while promoting his documentary at a film festival.
For the most part, I rather liked Lurker as a movie. We've done these toxic/obsessive friendship tropes and there's certainly blurred lines between how Matthew viewed Oliver throughout the whole film. Good performances from the leads help it.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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