Fatal Attraction (1987)
Laura’s Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
This popular thriller received 6 Academy Award nominations and became the highest grossing film of 1987 despite controversy surrounding the subject matter and the portrayal of Alex’s character.
The Analysis:
Dan Gallagher is a successful lawyer, seemingly devoted to his wife, Beth, and daughter Ellen. While his family is out of town, he ends up having an affair with Alex Forrest, an editor at a publishing company working with Dan’s law firm. Dan assumes their encounter was a one time thing but Alex wants more. Soon, a brief affair turns into a deadly serious entanglement, leaving the audience to ask who is to blame.
Fatal Attraction crafts a tension that builds into a deep sense of impending dread. The film features great performances from Michael Douglas as Dan and Glenn Close as Alex. Although I wasn’t initially sold on Close in her role, she believably portrays her character’s shift from fun and sultry to manipulative and obsessive. Some have criticized the portrayal of Alex, who feel that it portrays the career woman in a negative light, with Beth and Dan, the traditional family unit, as more innocent. The viewer feels the walls closing in on Dan, but also knows that Dan is not without blame and won’t be able to escape the situation without consequences.
This realistic and steamy thriller felt fresh among sometimes stale 80s films and kept me on the edge of my seat. The twists and turns left me guessing how it would end until the final scene. I’d recommend it to fans of psychological horror and thrillers.
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