Close attention reveals plenty of flaws but for sheer heart-in-the-mouth excitement it remains a triumph.
Fatal Attraction (1987)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:40
Fresh:32
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 39 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: While his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter are out of town, successful attorney Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) has a one-night stand with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), the publishing executive he has... While his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter are out of town, successful attorney Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) has a one-night stand with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), the publishing executive he has just met. He has no idea what he's getting into. Immediately after the encounter, Dan wants to put the experience behind him, but Alex refuses to let go of their relationship. Driven to madness by his rejection, she turns to violently harassing both Dan and his family. This terrifying morality play, which takes the consequences of infidelity to new heights of horror, became one of 1987's biggest box-office successes. Academy Award Nominations: 6, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress--Glenn Close, Best Supporting Actress--Anne Archer, Best (Adapted) Screenplay. [More]
Starring: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Fred Gwynne
Starring: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Fred Gwynne, Stuart Pankin, Ellen Foley
Director: Adrian Lyne
Director: Adrian Lyne
Screenwriter: James Dearden, Nicholas Meyer
Producer: Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing
Composer: Maurice Jarre
Reviews for Fatal Attraction
A predictable dog's dinner of Pavlovian thriller clichés, this will appeal strongly to those who think women should be kept on a short lead.
Two absolutely riveting performances and a smart reversal of the usual male-female stalker scenario leave behind a nasty taste and an unforgettable cinema experience.
has the makings of a serious examination of adult relationships and interactions under duress, only to end as a seriocomic slasher film dictated by popular taste.
An exceptionally well-written, well-acted and well-directed thriller that extends beyond the boundaries mainstream films typically set.
...remains a reasonably efficient thriller, building tension slowly and releasing it, if too melodramatically, at least excitingly.
[The film brings] horror home to a place where the grownup moviegoer actually lives.
This story of an extramarital fling that turns into a nightmare begins as a well-crafted psychological thriller but degenerates into a misogynistic thrill-fest in its closing moments.
The screws are tightened expertly in this suspenseful meller about a flipped-out femme who makes life hell for the married man who scorns her.
While billed as a romance and a thriller, the film strictly qualifies as neither, appealing to our prurience, guilt, hatred, and dread.
An extremely well-directed and acted (particularly by Glenn Close as the career woman) thriller that also functions as cautionary tale about sex in the swinging 1970s and parable of AIDS in the 1980s.
The movie's sexual politics are a little acrid, but its construction is so persuasive and the lead performances so inspired that the film is hard to resist.
Latest News for Fatal Attraction
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July 14, 2005:
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