What type of movie is fatal attraction

She grows pathological. She visits him at the office, calls him at home in the middle of the night, throws acid on his car, visits his wife under the pretext of buying their apartment.

Desperate to keep his secret and preserve his happy marriage, Douglas tries to reason with her, threaten her and even hide from her, but she is implacable.

And you should read no further if you plan to see the movie, or perhaps, come to think of it, you should. The early and middle passages of the movie are handled with convincing psychological realism; James Dearden's dialogue sounds absolutely right, especially the way he allows the Close character to bait her hook with honeyed come-ons and then set it with jealousy, possessiveness and finally guilt after she says, inevitably, that she is pregnant.

With the exception of the silly sex scenes, "Fatal Attraction" never steps wrong until its third act - and then it steps very wrong. First, let me suggest how I hoped the movie would continue. Having created a believable and interesting marriage between Douglas and Anne Archer who is wonderful as his wife , and having drawn Close as a terrifying and yet always plausible other woman, I hoped the film would continue to follow its psychological exploration through to the end.

I wanted, for example, to hear a good talk between Douglas and Archer, in which truth was told and the strength of the marriage was tested. I wanted to see more of the inner workings of Close's mind.

I wanted to know more about how Douglas really felt about the situation. Although he grows to hate Close, is he really completely indifferent to the knowledge that she carries his child? The movie does not explore any of those avenues, although the filmmakers clearly have the intelligence to do so.

Instead, the last third of the movie collapses into pathetic melodrama. Crazy credits Barbara Harris is sometimes credited under the name Barbara Iley.

In the final credits here, under 'Party Guests,' she is credited under both names. Beth asks, "Who in the hell was that? Beth says that it's the middle of the night, still wondering why someone would call at a.

Dan justifies this by saying it's only or so in L. User reviews Review. Top review. But that's another movie. The point is, its lesson was still easily recognizable in popular culture six years after it was made. What looks like an easy lay with a beautiful single woman can easily turn into an object lesson on Murphy's law.

Dan Gallagher Michael Douglas is a successful NYC attorney, and on a weekend when his wife and daughter are away from home at his in-laws' house, he has a work meeting that includes Alex Forrest Glenn Close , an editor for a publishing company. This leads to a drink at a bar, and that leads to a passionate one night stand that turns into a two night stand when Alex attempts suicide when Dan tries to leave.

Dan thinks it's over. Alex has seemed to come to her senses. But then she tells him she is pregnant, and no she is having this baby because she is 36 and it may be her last chance. When Dan insists he is not leaving his wife for her, that he does not love her - well, let's just say that the opposite of love is not hate it's indifference, and Alex at first stalks Dan and gradually turns up the heat until his entire family is at risk.

The suspense builds until the harrowing end. The thing is, Dan always loved his wife, subtly played by Ann Archer. She is beautiful, supportive, and he still has passion for her. They have a little girl and are a very happy family. But he just could not say no to what looked like a one night adventure that nobody need ever know about that turns into a nightmare. There is more to the film than the cautionary "Don't cheat on your wife" message.

I think it's because Glenn Close does such a fantastic job playing Alex. There's something about her portrayal that, to me, paints Alex as ultimately powerful, not just outright insane. Until the end she mostly dominates what happens to Michael Douglas' character's life. He discovers that all actions have consequences, and he must now live with his. The film and its ending are controversial. By killing Alex in the final scenes, Dan gets to shirk the greater consequences of his infidelity.

The film is more than a morality play , because there are no clear cut villains and heroes. For most of history, men like Dan have done what they want — because they can. Like a modern fairytale, Fatal Attraction warns wayward men to think twice. Alex also loves the soundtrack, and plays it during dinner one evening.

But the opera connection goes further. Fatal Attraction borrows its plot , and revisits key themes, such as honour and loyalty. Pinkerton then leaves Japan for a few years. When he returns, Cio-Cio has had his child — and Pinkerton has remarried an American woman. Pinkerton agrees to raise the child with his new wife.

Cio-Cio says goodbye to her son … and kills herself with a ceremonial knife. The moral questions at the heart of the film are big, complex topics. This is something the film touches on in its repeated use of black and white imagery.

Starting and ending with characters in white, and battling for their souls in the bathroom, is a neat touch. This is a shame, because it masks other more subtle techniques that appear throughout. Single White Female 's story revolves around Allie, who has broken up with her boyfriend and is in need of a roommate to help her keep her apartment. The new roommate she finds ends up developing an unhealthy obsession with Allie.

What unfolds is chilling and enough to make anyone not want to have a roommate ever again. Single White Female is a disturbing and subversive comment on infatuation. However, in this case, the infatuation is not romantic. Allie's roommate changes her hair, her wardrobe, and her personality to match Allie's. The character doesn't want to be with Allie but rather wants to become her and take over her life.

When novelist Paul Sheldon gets into a car accident that shatters the bones in his legs, a devoted fan, Annie, rescues him and begins nursing him back to health. Problems arise when Annie learns that Paul is planning to kill off her favorite character in his next novel. Annie grows more controlling and aggressive, trapping the injured Paul in her home. Kathy Bates as Annie delivers one of the best performances of her career, one that earned her a best actress Oscar.

As the story unfolds, she perfectly evoles Annie from an overzealous but benign fan to a violent psychopath. The film, based on a Stephen King novel, is a nailbiter, keeping the audience wondering if Paul will ever escape Annie's tight grasp. Jessica Jalali is a lover of all things pop culture and art, whether it be film, tv, music, or any other medium.

Her Screen Rant articles aim to entertain and inform, so I hope you enjoy her work as much as she enjoys writing them! By Jessica Jalali Published Aug 24,