FATAL ATTRACTION. Directed by Adrian Lyne; written by James Dearden; produced by Stanley R. Jaffe and Sherry Lansing for Paramount. Starring Michael Douglas. Glenn Close and Anne Archer. Rated R (very explicit sex, violence, language).
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Fatal Attraction is a highly suspenseful psychological thriller in the Hitchcockian style. The characters are believable people with flaws and strengths. The story puts them in dangerous situations beyond their control. And the style of the movie reinforces the mood of menace at every turn. It's not a "fun" movie, but it's well-made and exciting and will surely be one of the season's big hits.
Dan (Douglas) and Beth (Archer) are an attractive, well-to-do couple living in Manhattan. Their marriage seems secure; they have a cute (but not overly so) daughter, a big dog, and are contemplating a move to the suburbs.
Then Dan meets Alex (Close) at work and there is an instant physical attraction between them. Since Beth and the child are out of town for the weekend, what could be more natural than a little fling?
That's how Dan sees it, anyway, and he assumes Alex feels the same way. Before long though, it's obvious that her troubled personality has a much larger stake in the relationship. She's determined to continue it, and when Dan refuses, she goes off the deep end and starts trying to take the revenge of a "woman scorned."
Your sympathies may be with Alex, at least a little bit, here, since Close's performance is so strong that she gives Alex more depth than the usual "psycho" has. But you'll probably feel sorry for Dan, too, since Douglas also does a good job of making him believable as a basically decent guy who just makes a very human mistake.
The whole problem could have been avoided, of course, by Dan choosing to keep his pants zipped. But in spite of the fact that the consequences of such indiscretions today can certainly be deadly, we still feel that maybe Dan deserves a second chance.
Such conflicting feelings, however, in addition to its occasionally almost unbearable suspense, make Fatal Attraction a very uncomfortable movie to watch.
In addition to Douglas and Close, Archer also does a good acting job as Beth. Blissfully unaware for most of the movie, when she gets a chance for some emotional and physical action, she's quite convincing. She is pretty enough to make us wonder about Dan's reasons for straying in the first place. But that's just one more little discomfort that Fatal Attraction heaps upon us.
The visual style of the movie is disturbing, as well, with lots of hand-held camera shots making us feel jumpy, and near-close-ups making us feel there's something just outside the frame, about to pounce.
The interiors all seem oppressive, especially Alex's sterile loft, but also the homey apartment of Dan and Beth. It's crowded and stuffy, somehow, with every inch of horizontal surface covered with snapshots of happy family members, and it's shown to us in lots of shots down dark hallways into small lighted rooms. The music is used effectively, too.
For those who might be interested, the Pink Floyd song about "Fatal Attraction" which is on the radio a lot these days isn't in the movie. The soundtrack runs more to opera and ominous low chords to heighten the mood of disquiet.
The movie is not without its cheap shots for scare value, but most of its suspenseful sequences, if not always unpredictable, are at least well-edited and effectively exciting.
The only sex scenes are close to the beginning of the movie, but they're steamy and frantic and more explicit than most. (But considering that director Lyne's last movie was the spicy 9 l/2 Weeks, this shouldn't be surprising.)
Fatal Attraction practically forces its viewers to sympathize with characters that aren't completely likeable. Seeing the world through the eyes of psychotic Alex, which Close's remarkable performance allows us to do, is an unsettling experience. This movie isn't for people who like to relax and have a good time at the theater. But if you go in for white-knuckle cinema, you'll love it.
NOTE: this movie made my 10-best list for 1987.
September 30, 1987