by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like the only idea Hollywood has is to remake everything. Most of the time, it’s best to stick to the original medium — movies should stay as movies, and shows as show, but there have been occasions when a studio will remake a movie into a show or vice versa. At some point, Paramount decided to remake the 1987 Michael Douglas film, Fatal Attraction, into a show for Paramount+. The show stars a very likable cast, many of whom I have seen and loved in other projects.
Fatal Attraction is a story told in two parts: the 2007-2008 past, and the 2022-2023 present. In the past, we find Dan Gallagher (Joshua Jackson), a successful Los Angelos District Attorney, who is married to Beth (Amanda Peet), and has a daughter, Ellen (Vivien Lyra Blair). After Dan is passed up for the promotion to judge, he forms a friendship with Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan), which leads to an affair. When she won’t let him go and starts to stalk him, Dan realizes that Alex has some mental issues. In the present timeline, Dan has been in prison for 15 years because of the death of Alex. He is released on parole and still wants to clear his name, while also rebuilding his life. This rebuild will involve him also trying to reconnect with the now-adult Ellen (Alyssa Jirrels) and trying to make amends.
This show tries to expand on the original story, and series writer Alexandra Cunningham does a brilliant job of not only that, but also making this seem like something worthy of a TV show. The wardrobe did have me off a bit; it feels like they are trying to make Dan look like his ‘80s counterpart but in the 2008 era, which doesn’t fit. Cunningham also seems to take Alex’s mental health, and her manipulation and stalking of Dan, to a deeper level since there are multiple episodes to show her spiral. The scenes in the past and present are handled decently; instead of telling the audience, “Hey, it’s the past,” you are able to discern based on the hairstyle Dan has. But also we don’t have to have our hands held to know when they change timeframes.
Jackson is phenomenal in this series. I loved him in Fringe, and this character is not much different from Peter Bishop, apart from maybe his dialogue. I always find Peet a breath of fresh air in any project she works on, and she has amazing chemistry with Jackson. Blair and Jirrels play Ellen very differently because of the 15-year gap they have. Blair doesn’t have much to do other than to be a kid, but her and Jackson are great together. Conversely, Jirrels has a lot to work with, as she is trying to work through the trauma her dad has caused and just have a life. The true shining star is Caplan, who has the crazy-obsessed character down pat by now. From True Blood, to Castle Rock, to this, she has perfected this archetype down to the point that it’s almost unsettling.
This story works as a TV show, but was it needed? There is so much that they could have changed to have it be completely new IP. Maybe they just wanted the name recognition, but from my cursory glance at IMDb, the future timeline stuff and the murder was new to the plot. With the new aspects they added, it is easy to believe they could have worked this into its own thing. I did enjoy the show in parts, but in others it had me wanting to watch something else. The characters struggle to remember Alex’s name, and even I had trouble remembering it.
All in all, the mystery might be worth sticking around for as they unravel the past in the present. If stories like this are your cup of tea, then by all means check it out.
Score: 5/10
Fatal Attraction is currently streaming on Paramount+
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