Review of Fatal Attraction (1987) by Mimi S — 25 May 2014

Fatal Attraction is suspenseful and exciting thriller with a top performances from Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. I really hope that this film saves marriages :P. Fatal Attraction is about a family man, Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) who has a weekend fling with, Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), a woman he meets through his work. Dan makes it clear that he is married and has no intention of leaving his wife and child and that their fling is a one off, however Alex cannot accept Dan's rejection and wants more. Alex becomes obsessed with Dan and begins to constantly call him at work and home, stalk him and tries to blackmail him that she is pregnant with his child. Alex makes Dan's life hell and he has no choice but to confess all to his devoted wife Beth (Anne Archer) when things get out of hand.

Fatal Attraction really is one of the best thrillers I've seen. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen and the drama really kept me on my toes. I like dramatic films and the drama is intense! Glenn Close is bloody fantastic and she oozes with creepiness right from the start. She's so convincing and believable; she can go from 0-10 on the psychopath scale just like that! I just kept thinking OMG what a fucking psycho, she was that good! Honestly that woman is terrifying. Unfortunately I think that Glenn Close will always be remembered for her role in Fatal Attraction and be seen as the "crazy chick" even in real life. Worse I think a lot of women get given a bad name too and we get labelled psychos when not all of us women are like that. I'm pretty sane at least I think I am :P. I just wanted to thump Alex and be like just get over it and find yourself a new bloke!

Michael Douglas strikes the right balance as the decent guy who makes one mistake and tries to let Alex down gently, but as her behaviour intensifies he's angier than you've ever seen him and vengeful and will go to any lengths to keep his family safe. Unfortunately Fatal Attraction does extend to real life, although rare in the extremes depicted in the film, unrequited love and obsession with a person you can't have happens. The sad thing is that if Dan wasn't married and if Alex wasn't a psycho, they'd make a nice couple. Fatal Attraction also can lead to a good debate; who is really in the wrong, Dan or Alex? Obviously not justifying Alex's behaviour because she's a wackjob, is Dan just a dick and a coward who just used Alex and wont face up to his responsibilites and is Alex just as bad because she knew he was married and had a daughter?

Fatal Attraction is also a good thriller to watch from a psychological perspective. As a psychology student it's interesting to analyse Alex's character and possible condition. Alex Forest is definitely one of the most iconic femme fatales in cinema. Also Fatal Attraction should be made compulsory for married couples to watch or men who are thinking about straying. After seeing it they'll never want to cheat in their lives :P. Fatal Attraction is a well paced and gripping film with good performance. This is one of those iconic films that you have to see! The term "bunny boiler" comes from Fatal Attraction if you're familiar with it; a term used to describe a woman who obsesses over a man to an unhealthy degree and stalks him.

Grade: A.