MovieChat Forums > Fatal Attraction (1987) Discussion > People miss the point of this film

People miss the point of this film

posted 9 years ago by Christian_Grey
22 replies | jump to latest

This wasn't a misrepresentation of women. It was a representation of a borderline-psychopath who happened to be female.

I've read comments on here that Dan lead Alex on. But if you actually watch the film the opposite happens - Alex lead Dan on. She's the one who talked about being discrete and just having a good time. She gave him every indication at the restaurant/bar that she wanted nothing more than a fling. So Dan went along with it. Then after that one weekend her borderline traits manifest and that's where things go down hill for Dan.

I think people are too quick to slap the misogyny/misrepresentation of women/pro conservative family tag on this film and just dismiss it. But Alex wasn't a stable professional career woman. She had a severe personality disorder. And Dan was guilty of a lapse in judgment.

IMO if the original ending was kept it would have made more sense. Alex committing suicide by slashing her throat would unequivocally let the audience know that she was psychotic. Instead, the ending they did keep has lead to people using the film and the character to further an agenda.

I dont make love. I *beep* ... hard. - Christian Grey

[–] renatom1 9 years ago

Much has been made about Alex manipulating Dan. Fine, but Dan should have been wise enough to know that any woman who agrees to easy, non-committal sex is lying and asking for trouble.

[–] mkohary 9 years ago

How do you figure? Lots of women want "easy, non-commital sex", just like lots of men do.

[–] renatom1 9 years ago

Yeah, and those women are unstable--like Alex.

[–] norman-dostal 8 years ago

Wow. You don't know women.

[–] tzukeeper 9 years ago

There are tons of men and women who go after people who wear wedding rings. They just want non-committal sex. Trust me, I've been there (as the married one).

I just wasn't made for these times. (Brian Wilson)

[–] renatom1 9 years ago

I don't doubt that that's true. I'm just saying that when you meet a woman who wants non-committal sex, most likely she's just lying to trap a man. As the saying goes: if it looks too good to be true, it usually isn't.

[–] norman-dostal 8 years ago

So you're a virgin?

[–] millsyooksy 9 years ago

so true, all of my friends who are into that kind of thing have issues...guys too.

[–] trippeh 9 years ago

"Much has been made about Alex manipulating Dan. Fine, but Dan should have been wise enough to know that any woman who agrees to easy, non-committal sex is lying and asking for trouble."

You don't know many women, do you?

Truly Happy Mondayed.

[–] SCY385-1 9 years ago

I think some of the points you have made is what makes Fatal Attraction an interesting film. Except for the cliche ending I found the film to be challenging in the way it presented it's characters. It would have been so easy to make Dan a typical philanderer who lies to have extramarital sex with a woman and gets his comuppence. The writers didn't do that. They made Dan a very likable person who gets tempted. He does not lie to Alex. He is quite honest with her. He tells her that he loves his wife and the life he has with her. How much more honest can a man be? Yet Alex does what many women do. She read way to much into the situation. Getting pregnant didn't help to clarify the matter. Stalking and kidnapping didn't help endear Alex to Dan's heart either. And if she had a personality disorder then she must have spread the sh** around because I know a lot of women who have pulled these same antics only on a smaller scale. Phone harassment of both the men and their wives. Stalking the men. I don't know anybody who kidnapped a child, but I did have a nutty acquaintance who kidnapped a dog.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Christian_Grey 9 years ago

No nimrod. She's a combination of borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Get off the internet and actually read a book.

I dont make love. I *beep* ... hard. - Christian Grey

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

She may indeed have those conditions, yes.
But I am sorry, you do not boil someone's pet, kidnap their kid, try to murder their wife....never mind STALK someone who doesn't want you....unless you are psychotic.

And yes, I've certainly *read* about this subject.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] renatom1 9 years ago

Technically speaking, psychosis is defined as losing touch with reality. Your senses tell you things that aren't true, and you believe things that clearly are not true. Alex did not suffer from any auditory or visual hallucinations, nor did Alex really believe that Dan loved her. She knew Dan hated her guts and wanted to be with his wife and daughter, so that's why she sought revenge for his unwillingness to love her. Her intense fear of abandonment combined with her propensity for self-harm better fits the criteria for borderline personality disorder. Her readiness to use violence against innocent people, however, fits the criteria for antisocial personality disorder. So a more accurate diagnosis of Alex is that she suffers from both borderline and antisocial personality disorders.

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

Alex DID think Dan cared for her. She may have believed he didn't for a time, hence her revenge, but it changes again.
Alex clearly indicates this at the end of the film, when she attacks Beth.

She asks her "Why are you here? He tried to say goodbye to me, but he couldn't...."
and goes on to say that he couldn't kill her because he truly loved her.

And sorry, no one is going to convince me that someone who can't take No for an answer when someone says they don't love them...THEN BOILS THEIR PET ALIVE...isn't a psychopath.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] Christian_Grey 9 years ago

You really have NOT read anything on this subject. A psychopath is not psychotic. A psychotic is someone suffering from a psychosis. The term psychopath is the non professional term for someone with antisocial personality disorder.

Yes, Alex did think Dan deeply cared for her even going as far as to believe he loved her. vBut do you see how this was an inappropriate emotional response given their mutual decision to be discrete about a casual fling?

This is what I'm getting at. Alex's emotional response and subsequent behavior - boiling the bunny, stalking, homicidal reaction to Beth, etc. are all part and parcel of someone who has both bipolar personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.

I dont make love. I *beep* ... hard. - Christian Grey

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

Yes, actually I HAVE read a good bit on abnormal psychology.
I do understand that psychotic describes behavior & psychopath is a 'proper name' for severely ill people.

I'm not a psychiatrist or even a psychologist by profession for sure, but I have read up on the subject....both 20 years ago & today.

And the diagnosis changes with every decade. What was once called this, is now called this.
Or people's symptoms now fit into this psychological *slot* now & not the former one.

You can slap any popular label on someone who behaves as Alex Forrest did: Antisocial, bipolar, even schizophrenic if you like.

But to me, as a non-professional, I can only use my common sense here.
Behavior such as that was considered psychopathic for a very long time.
And whatever label you choose, one shouldn't argue that one.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] Christian_Grey 9 years ago

Yes, actually I HAVE read a good bit on abnormal psychology. I'm not a psychiatrist or even a psychologist by profession for sure, but I have read up on the subject....both 20 years ago & today.

You're using the terms psychopath and psychotic interchangeably when they're describing two totally different mutually exclusive things.

So you either haven't read anything on this subject matter or you have and didn't absorb it properly in which case you should reread it.

You can slap any popular label on someone who behaves as Alex Forrest did: Antisocial, bipolar, even schizophrenic if you like.

These labels aren't "popular"; they're described in the DSM with specific diagnostic criteria.

But to me, as a non-professional, I can only use my common sense here.
Behavior such as that was considered psychopathic for a very long time.
And whatever label you choose, one shouldn't argue that one.

But you're not using common sense. You don't even have a grasp of the proper nomenclature. You're mixing up terms like psychotic and psychopath when they're distinct things.

And on top of that you're using the BS premise that these things are arbitrarily changeable every few decades. The fact that they change every few decades is not arbitrary; its b/c of the advances in the field of medicine.

I dont make love. I *beep* ... hard. - Christian Grey

[–] Christian_Grey 9 years ago

I don't think you have read about this subject. Like the poster mentioned, psychosis is when someone is out of touch with reality. For instance, a schizophrenic will experience sensory information that isn't actually happening - they may see things that aren't there and then react to them. Alex is not psychotic. There's no way she would be a successful businesswoman if she were actually psychotic.

People like Alex have personality disorders. This is when the person is very much in touch with reality but the disorder part comes by their inability to form appropriate interpersonal relationships. This is usually a combination of the wrong emotional response and subsequent behavior patterns that violate boundaries.

Alex and Dan had agreed before hand to have a fling with no strings attached, they engaged in such a relationship and then Alex reacted to this as if she and dan had a deep emotional connection and she subsequently behaved in a manner that violated all boundaries.

I dont make love. I *beep* ... hard. - Christian Grey

[–] mkohary 9 years ago

Agreed. I just finished watching this for the first time in a long time, and Alex very clearly leads on Dan. The discussion about who's discrete makes that crystal clear (he is telling the truth, while she is lying - she isn't discrete at all). I think people read far too much into this movie; at heart it's just your basic well-done thriller with just enough symbolism to give it some heart and depth, but not nearly enough to analyze and ascribe profound meaning to.

[–] GiaJake 9 years ago

CG - Absolutely agree. The fact that Alex was able to initially present herself as an easy-going, available women is part and parcel of those personality disorders, until she was thwarted or frustrated. One of the hallmarks of borderlines is fear of abandonment, and those with antisocial personality disorder are capable of harming small animals. As you probably know, people with pds are not all serial killers, but create chaos and devastation for those unfortunate enough to encounter them.

I asked a question on this board about Alex's dating life before meeting Dan. Imo there were probably several restraining orders issued against her from former lovers, job problems if she became involved in the workplace, and a trail of drama and destruction.

[–] wylierichardson-966-922691 9 years ago

These are valid points, but the idea of the movie ending with Glenn Close comitting suicide might have left some folks feeling 'cheated' (so to speak). By turning her into a bona fide 'villain', that sets up the final tangle at the end.
If she had merely taken her own life, and never threatened that of Michael Douglas and family, she would have been merely a pitiable character.