Fatal Attraction
Director: Adrian Lyne
Cast: Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer, Ellen Latze
In the wake of a smoldering affair, Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) finds himself caught between the obsessive attachment of a beautiful woman and his desire to keep his family safe. The plot descends into a deeper layer of insanity and erotic obsession as Alex’s attachment to Dan intensifies and she becomes increasingly determined to make him hers at any cost.
Dan Gallagher is a man with a beautiful family and a successful career who shatters the integrity of his marriage and the love he has for his wife and child when he violates his vows to his wife and has an affair with another woman. Although he makes a half-hearted attempt to restore the fragile integrity that was broken in his indiscretion by offering Alex a coward’s solution when she reveals a devastating secret to him, Dan is truly a selfish, misogynistic coward who possesses a powerful hunger for sexual gratification but lacks the desire or the motivation to take responsibility for his mistakes and gross lack of consideration for both his wife and Alex. While he does take measures to ensure his own protection and that of his family from Alex’s obsessive behavior, had he only acknowledged Alex’s feelings at the genesis of the affair's aftermath and taken responsibility for what he did with her, her retaliation would not have been as severe. There is a certain truth to the age-old phrase “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” and in this case, this phrase is both true and justified.
Although she takes extreme measures in the aftermath of the affair, Alex is actually a more sympathetic character than her masculine counterpart. Alex’s character stands out because while she acknowledges that she is nothing more than a one night stand for Dan, she is unwilling to allow him to simply cast her aside and forget about her. She is a woman whose fragile, almost child-like psyche is encompassed by a strength and determination that compels her to evoke extraordinary measures in order to ensure that Dan acknowledges her feelings and takes responsibility for his sexual indiscretion. Although she was the victim of a one-night stand, her actions, while superficially representative of a woman whose goal is to impress a man in order to retain his affections, in actuality has a stronger undercurrent of a woman who has finally discovered something akin to love and does not want to be robbed of love’s comfortable presence.
“Fatal Attraction” is an intensely powerful film that creates a unique perspective into the emotional psyche of a woman scorned in the aftermath of a sexually driven impulse. The acting is exceptional and the story draws the viewer in and establishes a deep connection to the characters. This film is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys an intense and emotional thriller.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.