This movie about adultery, jealousy and a spurned woman's relentless pursuit of revenge is genuinely unforgettable and compelling to watch. It's definitely a movie of its time which connected strongly with audiences when it was first released and also seemed to tap into certain attitudes that were starting to become more prevalent in society at that time. The values associated with the permissiveness of earlier years were gradually being left behind and this movie's depiction of the dangerous consequences of indulging in casual affairs seemed to be a strong endorsement of this change.
The impact and influence of this great box office success has continued to be significantly stronger than would normally be expected as it has successfully maintained its popularity over the years and even been responsible for the term "bunny boiler" becoming a universally recognised part of the language. Amusingly, 25 years after the movie's release, when Aerosmith's Steven Tyler announced his decision to leave "American Idol" to return to his band (which was his "first love"), he added "I've decided it's time to for me to let go of my mistress before she boils my rabbit".
Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is a successful, happily married Manhattan lawyer who meets book editor Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) when he does some work for her employers. One weekend, when his wife Beth (Anne Archer) and daughter Ellen (Ellen Hamilton Latzen) are out of town visiting his in-laws, he and Alex have a short but very passionate affair which he quickly decides to end but Alex is in no mood to agree.
Alex initially reacts by slitting her wrists and later goes on to harass Dan by calling in at his office and later continuing to make telephone calls to him on his work number. When he tells his secretary that he's not prepared to take any more of these calls, Alex reacts by telephoning his home at all hours of the day and night and then even poses as a prospective buyer of his apartment to show her determination to make him take responsibility for his actions.
Alex continues to terrorise Dan and his family by pouring acid on his car, kidnapping his daughter, boiling Ellen's pet rabbit and physically threatening Beth before the story eventually reaches its violent climax.
Michael Douglas is very convincing as Dan who seems to have achieved his success so easily that he takes his comfortable lifestyle and happy marriage for granted. He's a man who, in a moment of weakness makes a bad decision and very soon after, regrets what he's done. His betrayal of his loyal wife and his inability to confess until he's forced to, are reprehensible and indirectly put his family in great danger.
Glenn Close is genuinely scary in a very accomplished performance in which she shows the various facets of Alex's personality with such skill that she really makes her character's changeable and unhinged behaviour seem understandable. Anne Archer is also perfect in her part and the scene in which she learns of her husband's infidelity is extremely touching as she retains her dignity magnificently despite her obvious pain.
"Fatal Attraction" is an attention grabbing title which is reminiscent of the classic film noir titles which also frequently alluded to death, danger, fear or entrapment and just like those films, this movie features flawed characters, aberrant behaviour and plenty of suspense.
The impact and influence of this great box office success has continued to be significantly stronger than would normally be expected as it has successfully maintained its popularity over the years and even been responsible for the term "bunny boiler" becoming a universally recognised part of the language. Amusingly, 25 years after the movie's release, when Aerosmith's Steven Tyler announced his decision to leave "American Idol" to return to his band (which was his "first love"), he added "I've decided it's time to for me to let go of my mistress before she boils my rabbit".
Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is a successful, happily married Manhattan lawyer who meets book editor Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) when he does some work for her employers. One weekend, when his wife Beth (Anne Archer) and daughter Ellen (Ellen Hamilton Latzen) are out of town visiting his in-laws, he and Alex have a short but very passionate affair which he quickly decides to end but Alex is in no mood to agree.
Alex initially reacts by slitting her wrists and later goes on to harass Dan by calling in at his office and later continuing to make telephone calls to him on his work number. When he tells his secretary that he's not prepared to take any more of these calls, Alex reacts by telephoning his home at all hours of the day and night and then even poses as a prospective buyer of his apartment to show her determination to make him take responsibility for his actions.
Alex continues to terrorise Dan and his family by pouring acid on his car, kidnapping his daughter, boiling Ellen's pet rabbit and physically threatening Beth before the story eventually reaches its violent climax.
Michael Douglas is very convincing as Dan who seems to have achieved his success so easily that he takes his comfortable lifestyle and happy marriage for granted. He's a man who, in a moment of weakness makes a bad decision and very soon after, regrets what he's done. His betrayal of his loyal wife and his inability to confess until he's forced to, are reprehensible and indirectly put his family in great danger.
Glenn Close is genuinely scary in a very accomplished performance in which she shows the various facets of Alex's personality with such skill that she really makes her character's changeable and unhinged behaviour seem understandable. Anne Archer is also perfect in her part and the scene in which she learns of her husband's infidelity is extremely touching as she retains her dignity magnificently despite her obvious pain.
"Fatal Attraction" is an attention grabbing title which is reminiscent of the classic film noir titles which also frequently alluded to death, danger, fear or entrapment and just like those films, this movie features flawed characters, aberrant behaviour and plenty of suspense.