Fatal Attraction

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1:25

Fatal Attraction

R

1987

1h 59m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

74%

Tomatometer

61 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

For Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), life is good. He is on the rise at his New York law firm, is happily married to his wife, Beth (Anne Archer), and has a loving daughter. But, after a casual fling with a sultry book editor named Alex (Glenn Close), everything changes. Jilted by Dan, Alex becomes unstable, her behavior escalating from aggressive pursuit to obsessive stalking. Dan realizes that his main problem is not hiding his affair, but rather saving himself and his family.

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Critics Consensus

A potboiler in the finest sense, Fatal Attraction is a sultry, juicy thriller that's hard to look away from once it gets going.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/15/2023

This is a horror film based on the sanctity of the family -- the dream family. It enforces conventional morality (in the era of AIDS) by piling on paranoiac fear. The family that kills together stays together, and the audience is hyped up.

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Adam Nayman

The Ringer

05/05/2023

It’s a fine line between pathos and ridiculousness, and Close walks it like a velvet tightrope.

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Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

12/07/2022

Fatal Attraction evolves toward the cheaply manipulative and silly.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 7

2.5/4

Until it goes berserk in the last reel or so, "Fatal Attraction" is an absorbing drama of civilized adultery that gets less civilized as it goes on to its inevitable conclusion.

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Savina Petkova

A Good Movie To Watch

11/24/2023

77/100

Seen from a slightly removed perspective, the film becomes a stylized variation on conservative AIDS panic and a provocation to conservative heteronormativity. It has to be said that not all of the film has aged well.

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Q.V. Hough

Vague Visages

06/23/2023

However lethal Alex may be, Lyne introduces notes of empathy in an ingenious way...

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Kyle M

@RT77296778 Apr 26

Sacrificially shallow with little nuances to deepen anything into rather mere psychotic obsession due to lack of communication that’s plausible on both sides, but Glenn Close’s early corruption musters the ideal emittance for her character to validate the eventual suspense while Michael Douglas delivers one of his best performances. (B)

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 27

The worldwide gross is $320,145,693.00 over a budget of $14,000,000.00.

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Gi S

@Gistevenn Mar 25

First time i've seen it since the 80's, i had forgotten just how good this movie was. I'm a big michael douglas fan and this is his best movie imho. New movies nowadays this good are few and far between.

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Melissa L

@Agent99 Feb 19

This was intense the first time I watched back in the '80s, and a viewing today proved it just as intense.

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Julian S.

@akajulianscott Feb 18

It’s a pressure-cooker crowd-pleaser, anchored by a magnetic Close, though her character never gets the ending she deserves.

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Lisa T

@Florentina Feb 7

SPOILER: It's crazy to me that the husband cheats on his wife multiple times and there is no remorse. Only because the woman happens to have a mental illness there are repercussions for him. In the end his wife is mad at him for a bit, but finally just kills the woman that clearly needs medical attention and the wife lives happily ever after with her unfaithful husband that had zero character development. The acting is pretty good and overall it also has a compelling plot line, but the framing of the characters is just off.

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Adrian Lyne

Director

Michael Douglas

Dan Gallagher

Glenn Close

Alex Forrest

Anne Archer

Beth Gallagher

Ellen Latzen

Ellen Gallagher

Stuart Pankin

Jimmy

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - A Married Man

1:50

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Alex Comes Over

2:13

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Bathroom Brawl

2:12

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Not Going to Be Ignored

2:11

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Boiled Bunny

1:29

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Alex Is Pregnant

2:10

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Bloody Farewell

2:02

Fatal Attraction: Official Clip - Lying in the Park

1:37

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Fatal Attraction: Trailer 1

1:25

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Synopsis

For Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), life is good. He is on the rise at his New York law firm, is happily married to his wife, Beth (Anne Archer), and has a loving daughter. But, after a casual fling with a sultry book editor named Alex (Glenn Close), everything changes. Jilted by Dan, Alex becomes unstable, her behavior escalating from aggressive pursuit to obsessive stalking. Dan realizes that his main problem is not hiding his affair, but rather saving himself and his family.

Director: Adrian Lyne
Producer: Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing
Screenwriter: James Dearden, Nicholas Meyer
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 11, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 6, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $154.0M
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo