The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Fatal Attraction
Thriller · Drama · Romance · 1987
A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
Movie details
Fatal Attraction
“A look that led to an evening. A mistake he'll regret... FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.”
1987 Thriller · Drama · Romance 1h 59m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Fatal Attraction?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Unfaithful
Thriller · 2002
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Fair Play
Drama · 2023
An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel not only their recent engagement but their lives.
Asylum
Drama · 2005
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
The Ghoul
Drama · 2017
A homicide detective goes undercover as a patient to investigate a psychotherapist he believes is linked to a strange double murder. As his therapy sessions continue the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur.
Crash
Thriller · 1996
A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.
Swallow
Drama · 2020
Hunter, a newly pregnant housewife, finds herself increasingly compelled to consume dangerous objects. As her husband and his family tighten their control over her life, she must confront the dark secret behind her new obsession.
Jungle Fever
Drama · 1991
A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.
The Duke of Burgundy
Drama · 2015
Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.
Fifty Shades Freed
Drama · 2018
Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.
Newness
Romance · 2017
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Adrian Lyne
Written by
James Dearden
Michael Douglas
Dan Gallagher
Glenn Close
Alexandra "Alex" Forrest
Anne Archer
Beth Gallagher
Ellen Hamilton Latzen
Ellen Gallagher
Stuart Pankin
Jimmy
Ellen Foley
Hildy
Fred Gwynne
Arthur
Court is in session
Put Fatal Attraction on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.