A few minutes into Deon Taylor's "Fatale" a nagging feeling sets in, cueing the realization that you've seen this entire movie played out before. It's true: you absolutely have. So many movies have riffed on "Fatal Attraction," the mega-popular 1987 Glenn Close and Michael Douglas erotic thriller, including this year's dull Netflix's attempt, "Fatal Affair." "Fatale" isnt much of a fresh take on the formula, but there are individual moments where Taylor and screenwriter David Loughery try to deviate and twist the standard practices of the genre, and they have some fun while doing so.
Michael Ealy ("Jacob's Ladder") stars as Derrick, a successful brand agent, whose marriage to Traci (Damaris Lewis, "BlacKkKlansman") has hit a rough patch. They are trying to spend more time together, but Derrick must go to Las Vegas; he promises to make more time for Traci when he gets back. While in Vegas, Derrick meets Valerie (Hillary Swank, "The Hunt") out at a bar. They share a few drinks, have some laughs, and start dancing together, leading to a drunken one-night stand. The next morning, Derrick thinks he can wake up, get dressed, pack up his things, and head back to his normal life. Hasn't he ever seen a movie before? Maybe, he hasn't. We sure have, so it's inevitable for Derrick and Valerie's paths to cross again.
Though the overall structure and outcome of "Fatale" feels tried-and-true, Taylor has fun with a few twists along the way. Capturing a glitzy Los Angeles gives the movie an artificial sheen to contrast with its airport novel material. Taylor knows how to embrace the shlock in material. Last year, he directed "The Intruder," which put some interesting touches on the home invasion thriller and gave us a great, menacing performance from Dennis Quaid. Taylor feels comfortable working with this kind of material without swearing by a blueprint.
Ealy, who starred in "The Intruder," tends to gravitate towards these kinds of roles in silly movies. Swank, a two-time Oscar winner, seems to be getting more work lately, including this year's already canceled Netflix series "Away," last year's Sundance sci-fi movie "I Am Mother" and a strong turn in 2018's "What They Had." Earlier this year, she was in the dopey, politically charged and controversial movie "The Hunt," having a grand ol' time as the villain. She brings the same energy here, relishing in opportunities to play big, flashy roles opposite a movie's protagonist.
At the end of a long, miserable year - though the movies were quite good! - something as silly and mindless as "Fatale" rolls around at the perfect time. It's the time of the year where film writers are anxiously deciding what movies to put on their top 10 lists and who they will vote for in their respective critics group. "Fatale" is certainly not a movie to take seriously in any capacity, and that's exactly why it works.
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