Paramount+'s Fatal Attraction series is billed as an "in-depth reimagining" of the 1987 film, but it's not a direct remake. Despite being nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the film version of the psychosexual thriller was criticized for its portrayal of Glenn Close's Boiling Rabbids nemesis Alex Forrester. Controversial for its reductive and anti-feminist portrayal. Unlike the original series, the new series tells the story through an updated perspective of privilege, personality disorders, and family dynamics. However, the original Fatal Attraction movie ending would have alleviated some of these issues decades ago.
The plot revolves around Alex's obsession with married lawyer Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) after they end their affair. In the final cut's nerve-wracking finale, Alex attempts to stab Dan's wife, Beth (Anne Archer), in the shower. Dan (it seems) rushes into the bathroom just in time and drowns Alex in self-defense. When she unexpectedly emerged from the bathtub with a butcher knife in her hand, Beth shot her. After making statements to the police, Beth and Dan must figure out how to move on with their lives.
The final scenes differ significantly from the Madama Butterfly- inspired version director Adrian Lyne originally shot. In an alternate ending, Alex escapes a fight with Dan in the kitchen, grabbing the butcher knife with his fingerprints on his way out. She then frames Dan for murder by slitting her own throat with a knife on the bathroom floor, with music from a Puccini opera playing in the background. The police arrest Dan in his front yard, and Beth discovers a cassette tape left by Alex in her husband's address book, which contains a recording of what appears to be a suicide note. Beth believed this would be enough to clear Dan's name, but his fate was never officially revealed.
However, test audiences didn't respond favorably to Alex getting away with it, and Lane decided to reshoot a different ending - even over Close's outcry. "I loved the original ending. I always felt like Alex committed suicide more than she was mentally ill," the actor, who won a best actress Oscar for the role, recalled to The New York Times in 2017. "Six months after we finished shooting, I got a call asking us to reshoot the ending. I struggled with it for two weeks. It would have turned a character I loved into a murderous psychopath."
The Paramount+ iteration leans more toward Close's preferred outcome and offers a more nuanced examination of her character's mental health and perspective. The new series are set between 2008 and 2023, with Dan (Joshua Jackson) paroled after 15 years in prison for the murder of Alex (Lizzy Caplan). In addition to reconnecting with his family, including now-ex-wife Beth (Amanda Peet), he's on a mission to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, the 2008 timeline more closely reflects the events of the film, but with some more modern updates.
"The show doesn't portray Dan as an innocent bystander with a crazy person trying to ruin his life. He's much more culpable," Jackson explained in a recent interview with Busy, calling his character "Kind of like a monster." "He could never see beyond his own sense of self and see the damage he would ultimately do to his wife, and ultimately his daughter. Now, that means more to me as a father, even more than as a husband ”
But that's certainly not how the Douglas version of Dan was portrayed.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which provides free 24/7 support. You can also call Trans Lifeline 1-877-565-8860, Trevor Lifeline 1-866-488-7386 or contact your local suicide crisis center.
