Fatal Attraction

 As part of my reseach towards the Thriller genre, I have been watching films that catergorised under the genre. A film I watched recently is Fatal Attraction, this is my overall analysis of the film.

When I first started watching the film, I realised the simularities between it and a film I had already watched called 'Obsessed'. Both films were about a husband being unfaithful to his wife, and the woman that he had the affair with turning out to be obsessive. Inspiration from Fatal Attraction is further shown in Obsessed when through scenes is the movie.

The opening

The opening of the film is the simplest opening style, it is titles over a black screen, there is also no music to accompany the titles so in some ways I did find it slightly boring, but it also added tension as it kept me waiting to see what would happen next in the film, and the silence was actually effective because it would have been a shock if they chose to start the film with something frightning. This way I was kept on the edge to see what the film would bring.

Mise-en-scene and pace of the film

In comparison to modern Thrillers I had watched I felt that it the film moved at a very fast pace, In didn't really take time to build the characters that much so I hadn't made my mind up whether or not I cared when about the actions they were making. For example 'Dan' (the husband who has an affair on his wife) very quickly falls into a deep lust with Alex, at this point, which was extremely early on in the film I had not decided how I felt about Dan as a character, I don't think the camera had captured him being a loving husband and father to his family enough for the audience to care that he was having an affair. But I was shocked at how easily he gave in to Alex's attempt to seduce him, as if he had been waiting to cheat on his wife.

Characters

Alex (the mentally ill, obssesive woman who has an affair with Dan)

Initially I disliked Alex as a character very much, what made me feel this way towards her was the way she had an almost immediate obsession with Alex after their first conversation. She thought Dan was a man who would help her fulfill what she was missing in her life, and took the opportunity to trap him. In this way the audience begins to feel sorry for Dan as it seems as if her is being victimised by this woman. But as the film progresses it becomes apparant that Alex is mentally ill and probably went through a terrible past which made her this way.

Dan (the attorny who has an affair with Alex)

My feelings towards the character Dan were negative to begin with as I already knew he was going to cheat on Beth (his wife). What shocked me is how easily he gave into Alex's seduction, which made me think he had just been waiting for the opportunity to cheat on Beth. As the film progresses I do begin to feel sorry for Dan and the situation he has dragged himslef into. However a part of me does want Alex's attempts to make him take responsibility for what he has done be a success as it is unfair on his faithful wife who is ignorant to the situation, and also Alex although she makes unnessacary action for her point to be made.

Beth (Dan's wife)

Throughout the film I feel only sympathy for Beth. For a majority of the film she is oblivious to the fact that her husband is in this situation. It is only towards the end of the film that it is is revealed her that he had an affair- after this is to her knowledge she finds her self in unfortunate situations. She is sent to hospital after speeding on the road when she was searching for her child which Alex had. Then she is left to finish the mess that Dan created by shooting Alex. All in all she is a innocent woman who has been dragged into a fatal situation.

The ending

The film ends with the shooting of Alex in Beth's bathtub. Honestly is comes to a speedy ending with the police and Dan's front door and a still shot of a family picture of Dan his wife and child.
I do not mind that the ending was somewhat fast as the film did fulfill my expectations and was interesting and enjoyable to watch.
Also music was used effectively to startle and shock the audience.