Review of Fatal Attraction (1987) by Samarthya P — 23 Sep 2011

Fatal Attraction is almost a masterpiece for 2/3 of it. It really is. There are well constructed scenes, believable dialogue, just the right amount of sex and violence, it's tense, somewhat unpredictable, paced well...it all works wonderfully. And then, BAM, Close turns into a psycho killer with a knife, she's killed, just kidding!, killed again. What the fuck?

There was an original ending that was scrapped. The original ending called for Close to commit suicide and frame Douglas in a final act of desperation and vengeance. It didn't test well, maybe because it's far bleaker than people liked, and more intelligent than what she degenerated into in the official ending. And, it doesn't allow for a clear villain. By turning her into a knife-wielding maniac, the audience is forced into being on Michael Douglas' side. By watching her take her own life, we are forced to think about Douglas' actions in a more thoughtful way. And, it's more consistent with her character. She is shown to be very intelligent while obsessed, which is a very dangerous combination. Far more dangerous than someone who can't wield a knife properly. And perhaps the dumbest thing about this reshot ending is that for a good number of scenes, I think three or four, the opera Madame Butterfly is referenced. First of all, what a heavy-handed allusion, but I'll let it slide. It works in context. But, for those of you who don't know how that opera ends, the protagonist kills herself because she cannot have the man she loves. Sound familiar? So in essence, the new ending with Close going all homicidal completely ruins any reason for having mentioned Madame Butterfly in the first place. And they kept it in anyway. My only conclusion is that the test audiences of 1987 were retard-strong.