In what is probably one of the most talked-about films of the 20th century, Fatal Attraction reinvented and shaped what moviegoers thought about casual affairs and relationships and their possibly fatal (haha) consequences. While Michael Douglas shines in his role of cheater-turned-family-man, the real star of the film was Glenn Close. Although there were many points in this film where I was left asking myself "wait, what? Why?", it still had a profound impact on me, knowing how close to home this film could hit to some viewers.
First off, let me say how sorry I feel for that lovable but naive yellow lab. He has seen some serious shit. After Michael Douglas's character Dan Gallagher has an affair with a single woman named Alex that he meets from work, I can't decide who I want to side with throughout the film. On one hand, I want to be with the crafted "protagonist" of the film because he made a simple mistake and is only trying to protect his family. But on the other hand, I can not help but to think of him as the bad guy because of the awful things that he may have accidentally made the woman do after their steamy night. Even though she is portrayed as the antagonist throughout, I couldn't help but to feel bad for her. She tried to slit her wrists out of pity in the night after she spent with Dan, which made me feel like she might not have been too stable. The one character that I did feel closest to and could relate was Dan's wife Beth. Her motivation throughout the film was simply to provide for her husband and daughter, which is understandable, and I could not help but to root for her as she shot Alex, killing her, in the final scene of the film. However, despite all of this character development chaos, it is easy to understand why some people may have viewed certain characters differently than I did, which makes this film so beautiful. Different experiences create different reactions, and this film was the perfect test for doing so.
As strange and thought-provoking as I thought this film was, there are a few certain things that have bothered me about it. I know that many critics and speculators over the past 30 years have probably broken down this film and analyzed why everything may have happened, but I personally did not understand and do not think there are valid reasons. For example, since the start of the film, Dan seemed like a normal extrovert, and even when he met Alex for the first time at the bar, he did not seem like the kind of man who would cheat on his wife. His truest intentions seemed to lie with his family, which gave me a sense that he was the good guy. However, when he had the one-night stand with Alex, I was left very confused. It did not seem like he had any good motive as to why he would do such a heinous thing. As for Alex, while she joked early in the film about her father dying from a heart attack, it turned out that she was actually telling the truth. This resonated strangely for me, because it did not make sense why that would have to do anything with her home-wrecking. She did not appear to have any motivation for breaking up Dan and Beth's marriage, other than her own personal pleasure. And her actions following that night made me view her as the archetypal "crazy ex-girlfriend," which did not suit her, given her nonexistent background information.
One of the other major things that has created such a dichotomy in my mind is the alternate ending. I viewed this ending after seeing this movie for the first time, and I can not help but to think how much better the closing act of this film would have been. Indeed, it would have not brought in as much money as it originally did, but the conclusion makes more sense and is much more satisfying. In the original ending, Alex is drowned in the bathtub by Dan, and is apparently dead, but rises once more, only to be shot and killed by Beth. The typical "the monster is alive again!" trope is so overused in my opinion, and it did not fit the theme at all. The alternate take, however, shows Dan being arrested for Alex's "murder." The audience finds out, however, that Alex killed herself with the knife that Dan had his fingerprints on because of his struggle with her earlier in the film. The closing shot of this ending was so powerful, because as Alex slowly swiped the knife across her throat, "Madam Butterfly" was blasting in the background of her apartment. This conclusion truly brings together all of the motifs of the film in a quieter but somehow more powerful way.
Even though I am upset that the theatrical cut of the film had a sillier ending, Fatal Attraction is a must-see for all moviegoers, especially fans of the love-thriller genre. Setting the tone for all love triangles in films for years to come, this movie has proven itself to be a classic tale.
My Rating: ★★★½
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