Review of Fatal Attraction (1987) by Josè M — 06 Nov 2013

Fatal Attraction serves as a strong drama dealing with the theme of adultery as well as a chilling psychological thriller which really has powerful fears coming from various characters in the story to make it an even sided story.

The true benefits of Fatal Attraction can nearly all be sourced back to director Adriane Lyne who in his wisdom manages to create a two-sided intense thriller which gives us a real sense of what the characters are experiencing as well as the thrills of the horrific human insanity depicted on screen.

Fatal Attraction manages to achieve finding a fine balance between the erotic drama of the affair and the psychological thrills of its repercussions, and it gives us a really atmospheric sense of what the characters are experiencing. By that I mean that somehow through a mix of talented actors and decent costuming and makeup, we know what Dan Gallagher is going through when he cheats on Beth with Alexandra "Alex" Forrest. It's a strange concept, but I'm going to have to try and explain. Anne Archer is a beautiful woman, and Dan had no reason to cheat on her character Beth at first, and his chemistry with Alex is like his chemistry with everyone else, and the filmmakers tone down Glenn Close's beauty through a mix of makeup and lighting. However, later when Beth is out of town and Dan and Alex encounter each other again by chance, the lighting shines on Alex and suddenly she's all the more attractive, particularly her smile. The hear of the moment kicks in, and next thing you know they're mixing each other up like a lime and a coconut. The moment is so passionate and so erotic that you completely forget about the fact that Dan is a married man, and it later evolves into a blossoming affair where the two even play with the dog in the park together. Although Fatal Attraction is the furthest thing from advocating adultery, it does display how characters take joy in it. It changes from this tone fast after the affair subsides because it's that moment after someone has just some something stupid where they stop and think "why did I do that? It's just going to be damaging", and Michael Douglas really makes it clear how he feels it. He does it well enough that it's difficult to completely hate him, unless you take the same view Alex does.

The story transitions into a psychological thriller at that point, and it does well because it evolves into an intense emotional with unexpected twists and a bit of cat-and-mouse going on. It's fairly equal sided so that we can sympathise with Alex and fear her at the same time, and it keeps things entertaining with a strong script and good plotting as well as strong film editing and an intense soundtrack.

Fatal Attraction just has so much at its roots to succeed that its cast is set up to succeed, but they all snags to do it on their own anyway.

Although his performance is overshadowed by the actresses of the film, Michael Douglas is a strong lead with serious determination as an actor to make his lead performance a powerful one, and he does because he gives insight into his mind not as a male, but as a person which removes the gender any idea of the stereotyping notion of the film. He develops really well as a character and Michael Douglas again proves that he has a talent for line delivery and emotional intensity. He certainly does a strong job.

Glenn Close is the obvious standout of the cast, as her performance as Alex is so effective that people still come up to her and say "you scared the sh*t out of me" or even "you saved my marriage". Her performance has actually saved marriages, so that's a good sign. Her performance as Alex combines a mix of things, such as Glenn Close's talent for playing a sweet character, a friendly one, an emotionally troubled one, and a psychotic one. She does all this and manages to have viewers sympathise with her as well as get freaked out, and it's a truly strong one which doesn't become melodramatic or stereotypical and just works. It's a powerful one, a very strong performance, and it mixes well with her beauty which she manages to manipulate so that viewers manage to see her as a product of fear and desire, and she ensures that viewers understand that she is the one that feels played, instead of the one that's playing the others like in the later Michael Douglas erotic thriller Basic Instinct. To summarise, Glenn Close is a lot of things in Fatal Attraction. She's sexy and seductive, sweet, scary and sufficient to the films drama, and has earned the name "bunny boiler" for her character. One thing she is not is an actress that doesn't deserve an Academy Award nomination for it.

Anne Archer is also pretty impressive, because considering the dramatic plot dynamics the character Beth experiences, it would have been very easy for her to fall into melodrama. But instead she transcends that notion and gives a performance that makes use of her attractiveness consistently without showing any nudity and downplays it for the scenes where she is out of town and unaware of the occurring affair. She constantly maintains the loving nature of a mother and a wife as well as small elements of sex appeal as a woman, and she gradually develops better as a character as she experiences the consequences of her husbands infidelity. She and Glenn Close also share a memorable chemistry which is intense and empowers the credibility of both actresses. Their moments together on screen are pretty powerful.

So although Fatal Attraction is significantly more understandable for the insightful older audiences, I still have an appreciation for its mix of emotional drama and psychological thrills and for director Adriane Lyne's genuine intelligence for handling the subject matter.