*Spoilers*
"Fatal Attraction" was originally titled "Head On", referring obviously to the initially minor and eventually fatal collision our lead characters find themselves involved in. This is a pretty subtle psychological drama about an unhappily married woman who begins a rather strange affair with an often hostile young man after they meet in a road accident. The games they play involve role-playing and setting up provocative scenarios, innocent until we start to see that the man is really quite unstable. Sally Kellerman's character is just so used to a boring, unfulfilling life with her husband that she can't stop or resist playing the games, even though she is arrested at one point because of them. One scene that sticks out in my head is the almost surreal sequence where Kellerman makes Stephen Lack think she's hung herself, only to attack him when he tries to cut her down. The combination of slow camera technique and rich, vibrant colors is mesmerizing here.
This is much more of a character study than anything. Though it has nothing to do with the 1987 blockbuster of the same name and is very obscure, I think it's just as good if not better. It doesn't have as many "big" dramatic moments as that film, rather it underplays the plot and makes both parties just as guilty for the inevitable deadly consequences, whereas "Fatal Attraction" (1987) just makes Glenn Close the stalker. People probably didn't want to accept the more complex concept of this film, or maybe the film was poorly distributed -- probably a combination of the two -- and that's why this film has remained unseen for the most part.
The acting is pretty good, especially from Kellerman, an underrated actress. Lack's almost as good, and some good supporting character actors like John Huston and Lawrence Dane add special flavor to this thoughtful film.
My rating: 8/10
"Fatal Attraction" was originally titled "Head On", referring obviously to the initially minor and eventually fatal collision our lead characters find themselves involved in. This is a pretty subtle psychological drama about an unhappily married woman who begins a rather strange affair with an often hostile young man after they meet in a road accident. The games they play involve role-playing and setting up provocative scenarios, innocent until we start to see that the man is really quite unstable. Sally Kellerman's character is just so used to a boring, unfulfilling life with her husband that she can't stop or resist playing the games, even though she is arrested at one point because of them. One scene that sticks out in my head is the almost surreal sequence where Kellerman makes Stephen Lack think she's hung herself, only to attack him when he tries to cut her down. The combination of slow camera technique and rich, vibrant colors is mesmerizing here.
This is much more of a character study than anything. Though it has nothing to do with the 1987 blockbuster of the same name and is very obscure, I think it's just as good if not better. It doesn't have as many "big" dramatic moments as that film, rather it underplays the plot and makes both parties just as guilty for the inevitable deadly consequences, whereas "Fatal Attraction" (1987) just makes Glenn Close the stalker. People probably didn't want to accept the more complex concept of this film, or maybe the film was poorly distributed -- probably a combination of the two -- and that's why this film has remained unseen for the most part.
The acting is pretty good, especially from Kellerman, an underrated actress. Lack's almost as good, and some good supporting character actors like John Huston and Lawrence Dane add special flavor to this thoughtful film.
My rating: 8/10