Fatal Attraction

Fatal Attraction (1987) is about a New York lawyer. Dan's family is away for the weekend; he spends two days with Alex, whom he met through work, and expects to return to his life. Alex does not accept that. The rest of the film is a man fighting not to face the consequence of his own decision. The ending was changed. In the original, Alex cuts her own throat and frames Dan for murder; when test screenings reacted badly the studio reshot it so that Dan's wife Beth shoots her. The reasoning was to give audiences the catharsis they wanted and to stop Alex triumphing. Glenn Close objected. She believed the character would self destruct and take her own life. She later accepted that the new ending made the film more successful, saying it gave a sense of catharsis and a hope that the family would survive. The most serious criticism concerns its portrayal of mental illness. Psychiatrists have used Alex Forrest to illustrate borderline personality disorder: impulsiveness, emotional instability, fear of abandonment and self harm. Close worked with psychologists for the role and learned that the character's extremes corresponded to someone who had suffered sexual abuse as a child. The film has nonetheless been criticised for years for reducing that picture to a figure of menace. Adrian Lyne directed. It cost 14 million dollars and grossed between 320 and 344 million worldwide, the second highest grossing film in America in 1987. It received six Oscar nominations including Picture, Director and Actress. It runs 119 minutes. Good for: eighties thrillers, Glenn Close, and relationship drama. Less good for: the film turning mental illness into a source of horror is seriously objectionable now. The violence and the scene with the rabbit are heavy. Dan's own responsibility disappears entirely in the final act.