Another classic moive. It's formula is simple -- the spurned woman (usually after the guys screws her) who won't take no for an answer to the point of stalking and violence. It's been used in plenty of movies since -- OBSESSED, THE CRUSH, SWIMFAN -- but none of them have done it as well at this.
The story: Dan (played by Michael Douglas) has an affair with Alex (played by Glen Close) while his wife is out of town. But then he breaks it off because he really does love his wife (*cough*). But Alex won't take no for an answer and keeps inserting herself into his life more and more -- from phone calls to showing up at work to coming over to his house, and as he keeps trying to break it off she keeps obsessing more and more until the big, violent finale.
Was it good?
It's better than good. This is the creme-de-la-creme. The story plays out simply and doesn't rush, letting us get to know the characters and build and build and build. There are no big twists, no surprise endings -- just the gradual build as the situation escalates again and again and again. The acting is great and the directing is smart and sharp.
But before I give the recommendation it's interesting to compare this movie to a few others, most notably BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. Now that's a very different type of movie -- there a woman has an affair and it's seen as this big romantic (even tragically romantic since she chooses to be with her husband instead) thing. Now we could dismiss it is BRIDGES was the only movie that had this, but it's amazing how often a woman having an affair is seen as romantic or fun (ala DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES) while when a man has an affair, it is essentially always shown as a despicable thing and quite often someone ends up dying because of it. One interesting exception is the movie UNFAITHFUL by the same director, Adrian Lyne, where a woman has an affair and his husband ends up killing the man. But even then the woman's affair doesn't lead to a physical attack on her the way the man's affairs seem to and in fact even the killing is less about the violence of the act then about the guilt imposed on the characters afterwards. It's a weird contradiction to me -- women complain about men having double standards, but it seems like there are plenty of places women have imposed double standards as well, and in fiction the way affairs are portrayed seems to be one of them.
Still...
If you are looking for a thriller this is one of the best.
*** ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND ***
No comments:
Post a Comment