The movie opens with what appears to be a family enjoying their normal
everyday life but rapidly the scene turns to the husband (Dan; played by
Michael Douglas) falling into what was to be a one night affair with a client.
However, his one night fling quickly spirals out of control when the woman, Alex
(played by Glenn Close), begins to display symptoms of a darker more disturbed
personality disorder. Shifting from the secure, professional, understanding,
fun filled, flirty woman whose sexual promiscuity and impulsivity was so
intoxicating only moments before into an insecure, needy, fearful, childlike,
and often angry person the next; she becomes so distraught that Dan is leaving
to return to his “normal” life she slits her wrists, all the while trying to
seduce him to stay with her.
As movies go, he saves her and the secret of their
affair, returning to his family and leaving Alex behind only to have her show
up at his work days later with an apology and an offer to go with her to see Madam Butterfly. His rejection, although
initially appears to be accepted is internalized with intense emptiness and is soon
followed by stalking behaviors that escalates to vandalism. Alex tells Dan she
loves him and that she is pregnant but does not need him to be involved. His
continued rejection of her escalates her diminished cognitive symptoms and eventually
she winds up killing the family rabbit putting it to boil in the kitchen cook
pot.
Alex’s behavior spirals out of control as she becomes so erratic and
unpredictable that she takes Dan’s daughter in an attempt to gain his
attentions. After Alex is assured Dan’s anxiety is in full height she drops the
child off at the house as though they were friends after their trip to the
amusement park. Frustrated and freighted, Dan storms into Alex’s house as
though he would try to kill her, only to stop when he realizes what he was
doing, leaves, and goes to the police. At this point it appears that Alex has a
psychotic break and begins to hallucinate that Dan’s wife, Beth (played by Ann
Archer), is the cause of her problems and needs to be removed from the
equation. During Alex’s efforts to kill Beth Dan gets involved, Beth runs out,
returns with a gun, shoots and kills Alex; thus ending her rain of terror.
• How is the movie related
to a topic(s) covered in class?
Fatal Attraction is
about making observations in human behavior which directly relates to
contemporary psychological assessments. As an integral part of psychologists’
duties, observing behaviors is paramount. There are often specific cues that a
person gives, both verbal and nonverbal, that provide insight into the nature
of his or her specific difficulties (Plante, 2011). Thus reiterating just how
important the interviewing and observation process are to any assessment
process. For example diagnosing borderline personality disorder can be
difficult; however, specific issues with affectivity, interpersonal
functioning, impulse control, and cognitive instability are apparent upon
observation, as demonstrated in the movie Fatal
Attraction (Baskin & Paris, 2012). Affective instability and mood
reactivity are often accompanied by impulsivity (e.g., gambling, binge eating,
sexual promiscuity, etc.), interpersonal difficulties (e.g., frequently
changing goals, beliefs, vocation), and brief periods of paranoia or psychosis
(Biskin & Paris, 2012). In addition, it is highly unlikely that a woman
with such emotional fluctuations and suicidal tendencies has not been seen by a
therapist at least once in her lifetime; thus, “even a single psychoeducational
session could help to reduce [the severity of her] symptoms…” keeping her from
harming herself or others (Biskin & Paris, 2012, p. 1793; Plante, 2011).
• How is the psychological
issue(s) portrayed in the movie? Is the portrayal realistic?
Glen Closes’ portrayal of a woman who suffers from borderline
personality disorder was excellent. The initial bedroom scene when Dan was
attempting to leave Alex to return home after their affair reflects the
extremity of rapidly changing emotions and the reality of the “…suicide
attempts among patients with borderline personality disorder…” (Biskin &
Paris, 2012, p. 1789). Although the majority of Alex’s symptoms were
dramatically over the top, I believe the portrayal of moody reactivity to
external events and the expression of sensitivity and perceived rejection were brilliantly
executed. I also feel that Douglas gave Dan’s character just enough of a narcissistic
personality that most people would consider it “normal” behavior.
• Provide two discussion
questions that can be developed from viewing the movie.
1.
What would have been an appropriate method for Dan to
have safely removed himself from the “relationship” with Alex after he realized
she was suffering from a mental illness?
2.
While ethical violations are clearly made by Dan
(attorney-at-law) having a sexual relationship with a client (Alex), how does
one maintain a professional distance with a client who has no sense of
interpersonal functioning?
• Conclusions and personal
reactions
As a psychological thriller Fatal
Attraction did a great job of introducing (and freighting) moviegoers to the
psychological disorder known as borderline personality disorder. The awareness that
people gained by watching how shifting moods and volatility affect the lives of
people with mental illness was immeasurable. However, the movie relates to
contemporary psychological assessments through observation in an attempt to
“better understand, predict, and alleviate the intellectual, emotional, biological,
psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of [the negative] human
functioning” of BPD, which is the psychological goal (Plante, 2011, p. 5). I
feel it is a great movie with excellent educational results, when viewed in
that setting.
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