Review of Fatal Attraction (1987) by Filipeneto — 14 Nov 2020

I recently saw this film and I confess that I don't feel disappointed in my expectations. It is commonly regarded as a milestone in the sexy-thriller genre, and the enviable record of six nominations - which did not go beyond that - for the Oscars (Best Film, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay), associated with the huge commercial success that it achieved, it kind of consolidated that status and guaranteed it a place in the history of cinema.

The film is about a man stuck in a monotonous but sincere marriage, who falls into the error of engaging sexually with an elegant and lonely woman he meets at work. Far from accepting that it was just a weekend affair, she decides to pursue him and take things to the last consequences. The story is very good and Adrian Lyne was able to develop it with coherence and logic, creating a dramatic tension that increases as the ending approaches and the characters' attitudes become more and more radical. The pace is perfect, there are no dead moments or scenes that seem out of place. There are some sex scenes, with some nudity, but it is nothing that shocked me, although it is normal that at the time they were considered quite bold. Everything seems perfect until we get close to the end, where the director truly loses his hand and makes a histrionic ending with some improbable ideas. I think that here, commercial logic and the bet on sensationalism prevailed.

Much of the success of this film rests on the enormous performance of the two central actors in the plot, Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. Both were experiencing a magnificent moment in their careers: Douglas would win Oscar that same year with "Wall Street" and Close, despite being little known and a risky bet on the part of the production, he had enormous talent, evident in how your character worked, loaded with psychological nuances and sudden changes in mood and feelings. If the two actors were able to stand out in isolation, they were incomparable together, with the ideal chemistry and a remarkable likelihood. Both achieved, with this film, one of the most iconic works of their lives (particularly Close). The film also features the participation of Anne Archer, impeccable in the role of the betrayed wife.

Being a film that bets so much on the story told and on the performance of the actors, I don't think it is surprising to be a film with such discrete production values. The film is good, but it does not stand out at this point: cinematography is the standard of the time it was made, and the sets and costumes, although they fit into the story, do not bring anything remarkable in themselves, apart from the relative monochromatic of Close's costume, almost always in white tones. The effects are almost nil and the Maurice Jarre soundtrack is definitely not the most interesting I've heard.