Fatale

The casting was kind of odd and Hilary Swank was not at her best. The story was interesting enough to finish the movie. It was not the most original and had some plot holes, but it was better than most of the reviews would let on.

Is it a great story? No. Is the acting awesome? Not really. Then why 6 stars? Because I found the entire thing pretty entertaining. While parts of the story were pretty easy to figure out early on, there were some twists which I found interesting enough to make this a better movie than others thought it was.

Derrick Tyler is a successful businessman who loves his wife, but during a trip to Las Vegas he cheats on her with a beautiful stranger. Upon returning home he becomes a victim of a violent home invasion which leads to an unexpected encounter with his one night stand from Las Vegas. Oh my, he wishes that he'd kept his pants on!

FATALE has a distinct vibe of the 90s about it and could have been a remake of UNLAWFUL ENTRY, a film with Kurt Russell and Ray Liotta.

I realise I enjoy recent work of Deon Taylor (the director): BLACK AND BLUE and THE INTRUDER both released in 2019 were down to basics thrillers, intense and fun to watch. FATALE is such a film, structured around Hilary Swank's character (detective Val Quinlan) it introduces a few surprises in the genre of so called "one night stand" thrillers, but then it evolves in a most predictable way.

The important thing about FATALE is that something is always happening, the action is propelled forward and the film ends in a flash. Whether you like the end result is a different story, but FATALE is the kind of guilty pleasure that you don't really feel guilty about. Hillary Swank's acting is also what makes the film very bearable!

As for the hidden meaning - white cop killing black people left right and centre is definitely a deliberate choice for the writers, making that cop a woman making this even more intense. Black people in the film are also depicted in a bad light, they are either gangsters, cheaters or murderers. Or plain stupid like the main character Derrick. So there we go.

But step away from political correctness and enjoy the movie for what it is - a cheesy femme fatale thriller straight from the 90s.

Slow start turns into an absorbing thriller with a different end. Worth a view.

This is a good drama. Though the story is plain and easily guessed, it is still engaging.