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Fatal Attraction | Year: 1987 Classification: Thriller Directed: - Adrian Lyne Actors/Actresses: - Michael Douglas - Glenn Close - Anne Archer Picture Perfect FATAL ATTRACTION was more than a box-office smash; it was a cultural phenomenon. This story of an extramarital fling that turns into a nightmare begins as a well-crafted psychological thriller but degenerates into a misogynistic thrill-fest in its closing moments. Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is a Manhattan lawyer with a gorgeous wife (Anne Archer) and a six-year-old daughter. When he first meets Alex (Glenn Close), he is intrigued, but unavailable. On another weekend, though, a chance meeting brings Dan and Alex together for a passionate two-night stand in her apartment. When Dan tries to say his final goodbye and return to his family, he gets the first hint that Alex is not entirely rational and has become obsessed with him. That obsession soon turns life into an escalating nightmare for Dan and his family. Screenwriter James Dearden has created a set of initially believable characters, placed them in a familiar situation, and then drastically upped the stakes. Unfortunately, motivations and psychological concerns are thrown out the window in the final reel. The blame for this doesn't rest entirely with Dearden or director Adrian Lyne; the producers tested the original ending (Alex commits suicide, but not before implicating Dan as her murderer) and preview audiences found it less than satisfying. The thrill-a-minute conclusion was then shot and substituted. Notwithstanding the ending, the performances are excellent. Playing against type, Close is overtly libidinous, while at the same time making her obsession and slide into madness convincing and pathetic. Douglas also gives a performance of reasonable depth, and Archer does a nice turn as his implicitly frigid but alluring wife. Utterly Rattling With a hefty six Academy Award Nominations under its belt, Fatal Attraction is one of the most effective and intriguing thrillers ever made to date. Becoming a big hit in 1987 and years to come, Fatal Attraction crossed boundaries that film did not dare to cross in earlier years and caused this to be one of the most talked about films ever. With Adrian Lyne fresh of the FLASHDACE success, the direction makes this first so much better and more of a eye feast with everthing placed so logically. Many thrillers now have hints of ideas used in Fatal Attraction in them. Fatal Attraction was more than just a groundbreaking box-office hit. Michael Douglas (giving an amazing performance) stars as Dan, a man married to a wonderful wife and father to a joyous daughter, who has dinner with a woman after a job meeting on the weekend when his wife goes to look at a new house. The woman, a stylish and sexy Glenn Close (who gives a nail-bittingly astonishing performance) whose character's name is Alex, first sees Dan at a book party when they have a quick chat together at the bar. When at dinner Alex begins to bring up the idea that they are two lonely adults both looking for some fun, and the next thing we know they are in the apartment. After this one-night stand, Dan returns home to a call that his wife is staying another night because she could not go see the house. With another night of no wife, Dan gets a call from Alex who persudes Dan to spend another night with her. After contemplating another night of doing his relationship wrong, Dan goes back to Alex. Later in the film, Dan tries to shrug Alex away from him, but Alex will not feel like a "slut that Dan can bang when he feels". Now the terror begins. A loving father and a loving husband who has an affair tries to get back into a normal family life but the thought of Alex always searching for him and the thought of her being able to tell his wife whenever she gets in a bad mood, frightens him. With chills and intrigument galore, Fatal Attraction turns into a mindblowing plot twister. The cast is fantastic, with career roles for both Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. Director Adrian Lyne shows an understanding of how to turn the visual screws with his camera movement and angles. Fatal Attraction turned out to be steep competition for all films and thrillers made in the years following. With both critical and movie-goer praise, this film seemed to impress all who watched. The DVD includes over three hours of bonus material that includes the following: Commentary Track, Featurette, Rehearsal Footage of both Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, Alternate Ending, and the Theatrical Trailer. Whether you've seen this film or plan on seeing it, you will agree with me that this film is an ultimate thriller. Nail biting thriller. I don't what it is about this film but it astounded me. A veryoriginal script could have been the answer with a host of excellentactors. Glenn Close plays the psychotic, obsessive woman, scorned by Michael Douglas after a weekend fling of passion while "the wife's away". The sex scenes are incredibly steamy and add to the effect of the movie. This film is laced with ironic subleties. As well as this we see Glenn Close's dark side. She is perfect as the dangerous woman who just can't get Douglas out of her head. Some disturbing scenes are added to show Close's psychotic side such as the rabbit scene. As Mrs. Gallagher comes to the boiling pot to see what it holds we see the innocence of her child running towards the rabbits cage, an excellent comparision. It's up to Dan Gallagher to make a harsh decision to tell of his affair but at what price? Will Mrs. Gallagher forgive and forget and if so will Alex Forrest leave the family alone and is she really pregnant? We are left with all these questions to linger in our minds which shows that this is a very suspensful, puzzing chiller. The final scene is one of terror as Alex comes down to seek revenge on Dan's treatment of her... Excellent thriller which deserves a lot of praise and a credit to the actors who worked so hard at being so realistic. Buy Fatal Attraction at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Fatal Attraction Search with the Priority Search Engine on Fatal Attraction This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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