Fatal Attraction

A married man (Michael Douglas)'s one night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover (Glenn Close) begins to stalk him and his family.

Apparently when this film came out it had some feminist backlash because it appears to show a career woman as psychotic, while the stay-at-home wife is good and subservient. That is one way to read it, but it would be putting meaning in there that probably was never intended.

This is quite simply someone with mental issues going after another person. It has a bit of a morality tale in there, scaring men off of cheating. But there is not much in it about gender. It simple works better as a psychotic woman rather than a man, because a psychotic man with a knife is pretty mundane.

A white-knuckled "don't-let-this-happen-to-you" thriller that vividly demonstrates what can happen to a guy when he lets other parts of his anatomy do his thinking for him. Manhattan lawyer Dan Callagher (Mike Douglas) has it all: successful career, attractive wife, nice dog, an d a loving daughter. So why not have an extramarital fling with a woman he met at a party while the family is out of town? Sure. Just a one-night stand. No harm, no harm done. But there's something very nasty about Dan's partner in crime, because blonde Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) may have all the right moves in the sack, but she also has an elevator that doesn't go all the way to the top. So when Dan wants to shake hands and part company, Alex will have none of it, and the table is set for a one-way ticket to Looney Land...

The moral is very simple: human beings are fragile. Leading on a single female as Dan Gallagher does in this movie can result in drastic consequences. Human beings are controlled by emotions: laughter, sadness, etc... Therefore, someone in Dan Gallagher's position must realize that inviting a single young lady to a tête-à-tête in a restaurant harbors relief to her solitude and brings her into a fantasy-life. On the other hand, Alex Forrest is attractive, relatively young, cultured, and intelligent. She definitely will find someone, but I still understand her reluctance to let Dan go. Overall, this is an fantastic suspenseful edge of your seat thriller type of movie, which can also be seen as a pioneer of films of this sort. No film hit the subject of cheating quite like this.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

Prior to viewing Fatal Attraction I was familiar with the film. I saw clips of it here and there (on YouTube, TV specials), I saw the semi-remake/rip-off starring Beyonce, Obsessed, and I am aware of the huge reputation surrounding the film. There were no surprises.I can imagine being in the '80s, sitting in the theaters expecting a sweeping love story and being overcome with surprise and adrenaline rush when I realized its true nature. In a perfect world that may be possible, but in reality I am forced to be friendly from a distance.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great movie, probably the best thriller from the '80s, but being so immersed in the hype did took away the fun that everyone gossiped about opening weekend in 1987. In fact, Fatal Attraction, was the first of its kind that spawned countless "romantic" thrillers since. It's mystifying to think of the ways the world of thrillers has changed since the origin of the genre, but in other way stayed exactly the same. Same plot formula, same twists, different style, different noise levels. The bottom line is most haven't gotten much better than this.

Glenn Close has said that she doesn't view her character, Alex as the villain in the story. That's typical of an actor playing the antagonist in a film because actors have to justify their characters as human beings to be able to portray them successfully. But I am actually taking the actor's side this time. I felt an enormous amount of empathy towards Alex. She's a lonely woman, she's really lonely, and that's the cause of all her malicious actions that follow. In ways she was the victim. Close embodies Alex, making the loneliness enough for the viewer to link themselves to, but not too much to overwhelm the viewer. When the script calls for Close to be overt, man, does she bring it, though.

My favorite performance, maybe even over Close's, was Anne Archer. Knowing she got an Academy Award nomination prior to watching the film, I assumed she'd get a scene to cry and throw a fit and that's what scored the nomination. She does well in that scene I anticipated, but I think she's exceptional from start to finish. Warm, when need be. Sorrowful, when need be. Douglas is the trio-member who doesn't stick out as often, but when his moment finally comes for the character to shine, you realize he was shining the entire time, we just didn't notice.

The killer aspect of Fatal Attraction is the directing from Adrian Lyne. Lyne layers fear on top of characters, not the plot necessarily, but the fictitious characters themselves. A particularly wicked moment of direction involves a telephone ringing. The telephone is what we're focusing on, but Lyne keeps the audience's engagement with the telephone on whether Archer's character will answer it and what Close's might say to her. Lyne takes his time and builds real suspense that often results in a misleading outburst of intensity. Lyne also makes the intelligent decision to let the sex scenes happen, but not to let them define the film. He puts the characters, the story, and most importantly, the suspense ahead of the raunchy sex scenes.

The film editing is crisp, pinpointed directly at Lyne's vision of the suspense. It keeps the film tantalizingly alive. The film is aided by a piercing score the scorches the suspense volumes louder than it had a right to be. Although moving the story along at a nice-pace is the ultimate intention of the thriller, symbolism can be found such as the shot of Douglas leaving Close's apartment the morning after the affair, adding to the basic, almost-generic message of the film: don't cheat. The ending isn't the original ending, though it's one heck of a conclusion and a heart-pounding thrill fest that shouldn't be controversial. The original ending is a sterling, twisted scene as well, but it's one that's not nearly as exciting as the final ending.

Originality is lacks in Hollywood today, but Fatal Attraction remains as an original roller coaster jolt, which other films have adapted and cheapened to make a few bucks. They know it works with the audience so why not? That being said, the script is really good. The dialogue is coated with richness, while still being realistic (they speak the way people actually speak in the real world). There are tons of twists packed into the screenplay, many of which pay off. The ones that don't work as well feel awkward and downgrade the flick a tad, but nothing that can stop the reputation of the thriller.

Being the first of its kind cannot be easy, but Fatal Attraction maintains the respect and class of it's massive reputation. It's filled with startling twists, great acting, and a director reaching shocking heights of the suspense genre. It's worth seeing for the terrifying finale which has stood the test of time extremely well. As much as I appreciated the technical elements, I wish I wasn't so familiar with it before actually seeing it which would've allowed myself to be swept up in its madness. Maybe this is a flashing light that we shouldn't familiarize ourselves with something so much that it becomes too late to fathom the art in its purest state.

Rating 8.5/10

Grade: A

Given that I see about 150-200 movies a year (mostly in the theater, but also on demand), it is absolutely amazing that I had never seen "Fatal Attraction", originally released in 1987 (119 min.), yes 33 years ago! So the other night I was channel-surfing for something good to watch, and there it was about to start on SHO. I decided to tune in.

No point in introducing the film's plot, which everyone knows. So let me just add a couple of general observations. First, I was surprised how good the film actually was. I'm not sure where I had gotten the idea in my head that this probably wasn't going to be all that good, but it is an intense, very intense, stalker-drama. Second, the three lead performances are rock solid, led by a believable crazy-over-the-top Glenn Close. Her transformation from lover to stalker to hater is absolutely spine-tingling. Third, the movie of course feels a bit dated when you see not a single communication exchange on mobile devices. Instead, old landline phones actually ring out loud. No texting of course. Fourth, after watching this the other night, I read up a bit on the movie's history and legacy, and it was then that I learned that the movie's original ending was changed drastically into what we now know as the ending. The original ending sounds sounds more logical to me that what it eventually would become, although I can certainly see the shock value in the new ending.

Bottom line, this movie was a pleasant surprise all around, and these 2 hours just flew by. Glad that I finally joined the rest of the cinema-loving crowd and now have seen "Fatal Attraction", 33 years after the facts. If you are one of those who like me hadn't seen this yet. I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.

"Fatal Attraction" is one of those famous things that got people talking during every free moment – and also one that's sure to be spoiled if you're like me and wait 30 years to see it.

Plot-wise, I know that to expect; but it still surprised me in some ways. Like the character of Alex Forrest. She doesn't have very much depth and it reduced to a stock schizo, but you wouldn't know it from Glenn Close's performance. Alex's (let's call them) antics have an unpredictability to them. Even when they're outlandish, they still work towards terrorizing Michael Douglas. She just keeps closing in, man. I don't think I'm really spoiling anything by saying Douglas eventually comes clean to his wife (Anne Archer) about the affair and that look of abject devastation on her face is horrible.

If the writing ever fails you (and it gets iffy) the acting won't. This can be a real nail- biter at times, and that's because the performances elevate the trashy script.

7/10