Fatal Attraction, dir. Adrian Lyne

Zero and Wiz RECOMMEND Fatal Attraction When you call a film "of it's time", it usually is talked about in its aesthetics. Either it has music that is drenched into the movie from it's time or clothes and hairstyles that remind you of that time. But a film "of it's time" can also describe the time at which society itself thought of certain things or types of people, which is how Fatal Attraction definitely fits. The film is about Dan (Michael Douglas) who has a weekend fling with Alex (Glenn Close) while his wife Beth (Anne Archer) is away for the weekend with their kid. As Dan tries to end the relationship, Alex grows increasingly unhinged: starting with harming herself but starts to move to stalking and extortion. The film tries to treat this trist as not really a moral weakness on Dan's part, but as a seductress wooing a happily married man into her cocoon of sexual depravity. They do this by desexualizing the wife while upping the sexual openness of Alex. I mean, how can Dan not be tempted by a woman who will blow him on an elevator? This is what I meant when Fatal Attraction is a "film of it's time": the film wants you to sympathize with Dan by showing Alex as wholly unreasonable and deliriously psychotic. The film is entirely on the side of Dan: Alex is someone who isn't a person you should feel sorry for, she's a woman to be feared. But honestly, fair enough if you would be: a woman who does what seh does SHOULD be feared, but the film treats this not as a morality tale about why you shouldn't cheat, but how you should be careful who you cheat with. In fact, the plot is kind of a mess due to how they portray Alex specifically: you go from possibly sympathizing to being concerned to "oh wait, she's literally a horror super villain" by the end of the film. But there are two things that make this film enjoyable: The thriller aspects are definitely fun. When Alex starts to grow more and more unhinged, it does get to be kind of fun as she grows ever more dangerous. And that is also because Glenn Close is so damn good as Alex. This film simply wouldn't work if Close doesn't portray Alex so well. From the beginning to the end, the film comes alive when she's on screen and she's easily the best part of the film. For a film that was very popular on its release as well as received six Oscar nominations, it's more of a curious look at the mentality of extra marital or promiscuous sex during the 1980s today. What likely made the film scary and unnerving at the time just feels more outlandish and funny today. See the film with that in mind and you'll find it an enjoyable look in the past.