Welcome to Part 2 of "Behind Obsessiveness". If you've not read the previous part, where we talk to Simon and Gary, you can read it here. In this blog, Harrison Wright (director) and Alex Murray (producer) talk about the thought process behind the film.
Q: What was the process of creating a character like Ryan?
Harrison Wright:
"When creating the character of Ryan, I wanted to apply as many OCD symptoms as I could that most people are unaware of. I wanted Ryan to live a simple life with simple everyday tasks, that we all do, but I wanted to make the tasks harder by twisting each and every one of them to get across the struggle that the everyday person with the condition goes through. As at the end of the day Ryan is like any other person, it’s just his mind can’t find satisfaction in anything.
I used Ryan’s mind as the antagonist in the film, as I believe it takes a lot to understand the true deep inner Beauty of OCD as you ask yourself why is he doing this and why is he doing that. It’s something only he understands. I wanted each thing, big and small, to have an effect on him, so the little things would eventually reach the climax around page 12, demonstrating the extreme measures that OCD can take on someone mentally. We start off with the weak OCD and then get more extreme as the tension rises until he finally snaps. In a way it is him vs himself. He needs to overcome his mind to gain control and live freely, knowing that it can’t be ever be eradicated but can be simply controlled."
Q: The film has been described as 'intense'. Was that a decision you made intentionally or did that just come naturally in the writing?
Harrison Wright:
"My initial plan coming into the writing process was I wanted my character of Ryan to feel trapped. And to do that I wanted to put him in a claustrophobic space as if we’re all trapped in his mind. Which is where the use of the one-take came in. It puts you by Ryan’s side and wouldn’t let you go. I also wanted to keep the pace up at all times and slowly build on his problems until he couldn’t take it anymore, due to such high tension reaching the climax.
In the film it gets to the point that we’re being driven insane with him which is something I wanted the audience to feel as that meant that they got to experience OCD for themselves. I didn’t want to hold back on anything, I wanted it all to be there so people know."
Q: Mental health is on the mind of everyone these days, so what makes Obsessiveness relevant to mental health awareness?
Alex Murray:
"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD as everyone calls it, is not usually described as a condition that many people deem to be problematic. This is because it’s not known to have any negative effects on people’s lifestyle choices. That’s not true, and that’s what makes Obsessiveness relevant.
It shows a different side to the condition and it proves that we should be taking it more seriously. Hopefully the film shows how complicated it can get for someone living with the condition, and that’s all thanks to Harrison’s brilliant script."
Experience Obsessiveness for yourself, for free on YouTube.
Thanks for reading our two-part blog series!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions