Fatal Attraction

An entertaining, engaging thriller, Fatal Attraction follows Michael Douglas’ Dan Gallagher as he embarks on an extramarital affair with Glenn Close’s Alex Forrest and becomes increasingly concerned for his family’s safety after Alex begins displaying less-than-rational behavior. Filmmaker Adrian Lyne, working from James Dearden’s screenplay, delivers a somewhat slow-moving yet consistently slick endeavor that only grows more and more compelling as time progresses, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Fatal Attraction benefits substantially from Douglas and Close’s superlative work as the picture’s at-odds central characters – although it’s hard to deny that Dan’s almost total lack of guilt for (or concern about) cheating on his wife is puzzling (to say the least). It’s clear, too, that the film’s watchable vibe is heightened on an ongoing basis by an emphasis on overtly captivating images and sequences (eg the infamous fate of that rabbit), while the tense (and thrilling) third act undoubtedly ensures that the whole thing ends on a decidedly captivating note – which ultimately does secure Fatal Attraction‘s place as a justifiably iconic ’80s release that still holds up relatively all these years later.

*** out of ****