Introduction to Fatal Temptation

Introduction to Fatal Temptation | Appreciation | Reflection

1987 color film120min

Produced by Paramount Film Company of America.

Director: Adrian Lynn Screenplay: James Dearden Photography: Howard atherton The main actors: michael douglas (as Tom Galloge), Green Cross (as Alex), Ann Archer (as Beth) and Allen Hamilton (as Helen).

abstract

In a comfortable apartment in Manhattan, new york, there lived the family of lawyer Tom Galloge. Gallog's wife Beth is beautiful and virtuous, and their six-year-old daughter Helen is as lively and lovely as a little angel.

Gallog is diligent and capable, and has won the praise of his peers. Robinson Press hired him as a legal adviser. One Friday night, Robinson Press held a celebration for the publication of Samurai. Mr. and Mrs. Galloges and his good friend Jimmy, who works in a law firm, are invited to have dinner together.

Japanese restaurants are crowded with guests. Among all the money, Jimmy was excited to find a blonde looking at them and smiling. Galloge mocked Jimmy for being "romantic". In a short time, Galloge met those hot and bold eyes in the bar upstairs, and they chatted naturally. It turns out that this blonde is Alex, the newly hired editor of Robinson Press. While they were chatting happily, Beth went upstairs to find Galloge and then went home. After seeing the beautiful image of the couple leaving, a strange look crossed Alex's face.

On Saturday morning, Beth took Helen to her grandmother's house in the suburbs for the weekend. While packing, the couple discussed buying a house in the suburbs. After seeing off his wife and daughter, Gallog hurried to the publishing house to discuss the lawsuit caused by a novel. Unexpectedly, he met Alex again at the seminar. It began to rain after the meeting. Galloge held his wallet in one hand and took out his automatic umbrella in the other, but the more anxious he was, the more he couldn't open it. With a hard pull, the umbrella turned over and he was so angry that he threw it away. Seeing this scene, Alex, who had been watching him, came over with an umbrella, so they went into a bar to take shelter from the rain.

In the dim light, two people sat opposite each other, and Kan Kan chatted, which was very speculative. Alex sighed, why all the interesting men are married. When Galloge told his wife that she took her daughter to grandma's house, Alex said, "So you came to flirt with the woman you just met." Under a tacit understanding, Galloge followed Alex to her apartment, and a storm engulfed the crazy middle-aged men and women, making them forget the existence of the world around them ... After the madness, they went dancing together and then went back to Alex's home together. Before entering the house, they got on the elevator again, and no one was watching. ...

On Sunday morning, Galloge left Alex a note and hurried home. Quincy the Great White Dog looked at him piteously. The telephone recorder recorded his wife's voice, and Gallog felt a twinge of apology. He quickly called Beth and lied that he was busy at work last night and lived at Jimmy's house. Beth told him that the traffic was very heavy on Sunday night and they were going to come back on Monday morning. The phone rang impatiently as soon as the receiver was put down. There was a woman's lingering voice on the phone, and Alex complained that he had left without saying goodbye. Galloge said he had a lot of things to do, but he couldn't beat this charming and willful woman and took Quincy to accompany Alex to the park. Coming out of the park, they went back to Alex's home. Alex made spaghetti for Galloge, and an aria from the Italian opera Madame Butterfly came from the stereo. Listening to Gallog's childhood memories of watching this famous opera with his parents, Alex was very emotional. After that, they slept together again. It was a Sunday night, and Galloge got out of bed and hurried home. Alex grabbed him rudely and wouldn't let him go. Galloge looked at the lovely woman who was warm just now and gave him a punch in the blink of an eye. She seems confused. They quarreled for the first time and refused to give way to each other. Before Galloge left, Alex got up to see him off and humbly apologized to him. Galloge suddenly found out that she had cut her wrist. After intense rescue, Galloge had to stay again. In the evening, Galloge dialed Beth's phone, listening to his nervous and concerned voice when talking to his wife, and Alex turned angrily.

On Monday morning, Gallog hurried home. He poured the spaghetti Beth left for him into the refrigerator, uncovered the quilt and rolled on the bed, then rushed to the office to prepare for the court appearance in the afternoon. When he came home after a busy day at night, Helen ran to meet him. He picked up his daughter and kissed her again, then hugged her and kissed her affectionately, as if afraid that she would run away from him. At dinner, Beth talked to him about moving, and then Helen played card games with him. The family and Mei Mei May spent the night after parting. On Tuesday morning, the couple excitedly went to see the new house. When they were satisfied, they made a decision at once. After noon, Galloge went to work in a relaxed mood. As soon as he entered the law firm, he saw Alex waiting in his office with a smile. She said that she had come to apologize to him for Sunday, and she hoped to see him more often. Galloge clearly replied that she couldn't. Alex invited him to see the opera Madame Butterfly next Thursday, but Galloge refused, and Alex insisted on giving him the ticket.

Next Thursday, the Gallogues and Jimmy get together and have a good time. He doesn't even want to go to Alex's date. Alex stayed at home alone and watched Mrs. Butterfly's live broadcast. His face was ugly. The next day, Galloge got a call from Alex in the office. He told Alex that her behavior embarrassed him and asked her to stop looking for him. He also told his secretary not to answer this man's phone again.

While Galloge was enjoying his family life and friendship, Alex called late at night and ordered him to meet the next day. When Galloge learned that Alex was pregnant, he was surprised at first, and then suggested that she have an abortion. But Alex doesn't want to do that, because she is no longer young. More importantly, she doesn't want to break up with Galloge. Galloge realized that things were not as simple as he thought. When Alex went out to look for evidence that she had another man, he sneaked into her house. He miscalculated. In desperation, he went to Jimmy for advice, but there was no result. When he came home listlessly, he found that Alex was having a cordial conversation with Beth, who had taken her as a new tenant. Faced with such a scene, Gallog felt as if he had broken a five-flavor bottle and had something to say. He had a hunch that Alex would follow him like a shadow, and he felt uneasy from then on.

The Gallogues moved into their new house. He bought a white rabbit for his daughter. After work, he received a tape from Alex, and then he found that Alex had burned his car, which made him swear. Sitting in the rented car, he listened to the voice recorded by Alex: "I can't help it. You made me do this. A part of you grows inside me. You'd better learn how to face the reality as soon as possible ... I just want you to realize your responsibilities and obligations. You came into my life and disturbed my life, but you never thought about me, only yourself. I hate you ... "Galloge listened to her voice, full of anger and fear. He doesn't know that Alex has been driving after him. When Alex saw Helen's joy when she took over the white rabbit, she felt sick. Gallog went to the police for help, and the police replied that he must have evidence, otherwise he could not sue and deserved it.

Another weekend, when the Galloges came back from their grandmother's house, Beth found the kitchen steaming, and Helen's beloved white rabbit was cooking in the pot. It's time to stop, and the warm home is shrouded in a mass of suffocation. It's late at night, and Helen is still crying sadly. Beth was sad, and Galloge's heart was broken. He told Beth the truth in fear and asked her forgiveness. It is painful for good Beth to accept this cruel fact. Galloge dialed Alex's phone, and Beth said to her, "If you come to my house again, I will kill you!" " "

The next night, Beth went to the kindergarten to meet Helen and found that Helen had been picked up by someone else. How did she know that Helen was with Alex at this time? Beth was very anxious. She drove around looking for her daughter. In panic, she had an accident. Galloge went to the hospital to visit Beth. When he saw that his beloved wife had an accident for him, he regretted it. Galloge went to settle accounts with Alex and scuffled as soon as he entered the door. Galloge grabbed Alex by the neck and almost strangled her. When Alex regained her breath, she grabbed a knife and stabbed Galloge. Galloge took it off and threw it on the table. He stared at the crazy woman like a crazy beast, and a mysterious expression flashed on Alex's face. Then, Gallog went to the police station again to report the case.

At Galloge's home, he is putting his daughter to bed, and Beth, who has just been discharged from the hospital, is going to take a shower. The police called Galloge to inform him that Alex was missing. Galloge carefully locked the door while taking care of Beth's medicine and boiled water. In the bathroom upstairs, Beth, who was about to take a bath, saw a figure in the mirror. She turned around in surprise and saw Alex walking towards her with a sharp knife. The two men wrestled together. Alex's knife stabbed Beth's thigh, then stabbed her upper body, and blood flowed down Beth's body. Galloge heard something was wrong and rushed into the bathroom. Seeing his wife hurt like this, he put Alex in the bathtub regardless. Seeing that she gradually stopped breathing, Galloge was relieved. Suddenly, Alex, who had recovered, stood up from the bathtub and stabbed Galloge with a knife. Then there was a gunshot and Beth killed Alex.

After seeing off the police who came to handle the case, Gallog and Beth, the couple who had experienced the disaster, embraced each other silently. The audience saw happy family photos with smiles on their faces.

Distinguish and appreciate

"Extramarital affair" is not a rare thing in the United States and even the western society, which pursues personal freedom, and people who have extramarital affairs do not need to be labeled as outrageous. However, the film "Fatal Temptation" with this theme not only caused great repercussions in the United States, but also caused some shock in European countries such as France and even Japan.

Fatal Temptation raises ethical issues that have long been forgotten by American and Western societies.

Alex lost his father very early, which left a deep scar in her heart. She has a good education and a good job. The film didn't explain her past. We see that she is a 36-year-old single woman, and her family and children are women of her age, which is exactly what Alex needs. Although she met Galloge by chance, it is inevitable to pursue a romantic and successful man like Galloge and build a love nest with him. When she first met Galloge, she was grateful and hesitant. When she felt her attraction to Galloge, she took the initiative to attack. From the moment she tasted the joy of being with Galloge, she began to lose her mind, and then became crazy and unreasonable. She wanted to bring Gallagher into her family, and she was moved by him step by step. When she was rejected by Gallagher many times, she turned her love for Gallagher and her uncontrollable * * * into resentment and passed it on to his family. She not only hurt Galloge's innocent wife and daughter, but also destroyed herself. Just as she took revenge step by step and became more and more cruel, the film showed the audience a madman who was insane by jealousy. Obviously, the film has no sympathy for this psychologically distorted woman.

Galloge has a happy family. He loves his virtuous wife and daughter deeply. They are the apple of his eye. He never thought about it, and he didn't want to ruin his present happiness. In a quiet life, he met Alex. Compared with gentle Beth, this woman full of games is fresher to him. He couldn't resist the fatal temptation and indulged himself while his wife was away. He thought it was just an episode in life, so naturally it was unnecessary to take it seriously. He even felt that ending this relationship was like Tang Woxue. Unexpectedly, this female companion who spent a happy night with him was moved by his true feelings, not only pregnant with his children, but also established a family with him. Galloge woke up from a dream and was on pins and needles every day. He tried his best to get rid of her, but he angered this "sentimental" woman, who wanted to completely destroy his home that hindered her happiness. At this time, Galloge, no matter how saddened, could not recover the pain and disaster brought by one-night stand to his beloved relatives. The film didn't give him charity, and he deserved it.

Both Galloge and Alex are middle-aged. Both of them experienced social unrest and mass liberation movement in 1960s and 1970s. They may represent a generation. With the trend of social stability in the United States at that time, the mature generation may still have traces of that era, but now they are more pragmatic and need their own comfort zone more. In the second half of 1980s, due to the discovery of AIDS and its harm and threat to human beings, the whole society reflected on the experience of the past 20 years. The film director grasped this progressive social tendency and showed this atypical extramarital affair on the screen without exaggeration, and the shocking consequences caused by it, in order to arouse social condemnation and warn people.

The film is well structured, well organized and well connected. First of all, the screenwriter does not hesitate to spend a third of the film to describe the story of a man and a woman being fatally tempted from meeting to falling in love, which is mainly narrative, but with a strong emotional atmosphere. From the first meeting at the party, the unexpected reunion at the weekend party, making eyes at each other, to the mutual hints when sheltering from the rain in the bar, to the madness when contacting each other. After the first time, Gallog seems to want to have a rest. Alex asked, "Are you still energetic?" Galloge asked, "What else do you want?" The next picture shows that Eric is twisting her body without restraint with the rhythm of jazz. She can't help but feel excited. Her hairstyle, dancing and every nerve exudes longing and wildness. After the wild dance, in front of Alex's house, Gallog hesitated and was pulled in by Alex. Ask him, "Have you ever taken an elevator? I knew you hadn't done it. " The words sound just fell and there was another burst of madness. At this time, the film author intends to put Gallog in a passive position, and highlights the unusual character and extraordinary energy of Alex, who is half crazy, in order to guide the audience to regard this woman with special respect. On Sunday morning, Alex woke up and disappeared from Galloge. She followed him by phone at once. She ignored Gallog's complaints and insisted that he accompany her for a long time. When Galloge insisted on going home, Alex was furious, kicked him and shouted rudely, "Do you want to have fun and leave?" Then he threatened to cut his wrist. Seeing this, the audience has begun to be impatient with Alex's shameless and her "love" for Galloge. This part fully paves the way for Gallog to be fatally tempted, which will lead to fatal punishment and implicate innocent wives and daughters.

The middle part of the film highlights two parallel and contrasting clues: one is that Alex, a witch, tries to break up Gallog's home, and the other is that Gallog tries to protect his home, that is, the safe haven and comfort zone. Leaving Alex's apartment, Galloge breathed a sigh of relief; Later, when I saw Beth, he kissed his wife emotionally and sincerely said "I miss you"; After Galloge and his wife went to see their new house excitedly, they saw Alex, who was called an apology, and even let him go out again, from happiness to depression. When the Gallogues and Jimmy got together, the atmosphere was friendly and warm. Alex, who was left out in the deserted apartment, listened to the sad aria in Mrs. Butterfly alone, and his eyes were full of sadness. Galloge watched Beth take off her makeup with great interest, admiring the beauty of her wife, and her heart was full of love. Alex took it out on the operator when he couldn't find Galloge. She put down the receiver, and her face was full of Sha Qi. Gallog gave Helen a lively and lovely little white rabbit, and her daughter cried and danced happily. Alex, hiding in the dark, felt sick when he saw the Gallogues enjoying their family life and thought of the unborn baby in their bellies. The author carefully arranged this series of parallel contrast shots, aiming to highlight the importance of "home" to the Gallogues and to contrast the loneliness of single women.

In the third part of the film, the author does not stick to the type of the film, but skillfully combines the ups and downs with the thrilling style to achieve the effect of strengthening the theme. While making the story progress, the author lost no time in inserting a series of unexpected horror plots to remind the audience of the consequences of philandering at any time. When Galloge and Alex seemed to say goodbye in a friendly way, he suddenly saw a pair of bloody wrists and was quite shocked. When he angrily asked Alex why he had been "harassing" him, the other side calmly replied that she was pregnant, and Galloge was furious. When he came home worried, he found that the god of plague, whom he was trying to avoid, was chatting with his wife with a smile. He was almost frightened. Galloge was moving furniture to his new home when he suddenly heard the telephone ring. For an instant, he seemed to be covered in blood, thinking that the terrible shadow had caught up with his new house again. He took the white rabbit home by car and saw clouds of smoke coming out of his car. The harsh voice dispelled the temporary calm in his heart and he felt that disaster was coming. Galloge, who was in shock, was at a loss when he heard Alex gnashing his teeth and cursing. When Helen came back from her grandmother's weekend, she went to see her lover. Beth was heartbroken as Helen lamented that the rabbit was gone. Beth, whose pain and heartache have not yet healed, finds that Alex who came to commit the crime is so weak that she can resist the crazy "her". The tip of the knife poked Beth's leg and body, rowing around, bleeding profusely; Galloge heard the sound, rushed upstairs and pinned the demonic Alex in the water. Seeing that she was out of breath, she came out of the water and stabbed Gallog with a knife. Such a wave of unrest has risen again and again, which is unbearable not only for Galloge but also for the audience.

The film author pays great attention to details, such as the picture of Galloge holding an umbrella in the rain; After he came home from Alex, he gave the dog spaghetti and deliberately messed up the bed. Looking at the lens of the pistol in the drawer when answering the police call not only adds interest to the film, but also accurately reflects the mentality of the characters at that time.

The lighting used in the film is also very distinctive: a faint red light flashes in the dim elevator; The dark walls and dim lights in Alex's room; The street where she lives is dark and fuzzy; The colorful lights in the ballroom create a dazzling and strange atmosphere; All this will make people feel dirty, ominous and uneasy.

The director is also very particular about the use of mirrors. Galloge appreciates the beauty of his wife from the mirror, which reflects the beautiful image of husband and wife's love. Beth found Alex in the mirror that wiped away the moisture. These symbolic lens languages play the role of rendering the atmosphere and setting off the theme.

In recent years, Hollywood has produced many movies that reflect family themes, many of which are starring big stars, such as Falling in Love, co-starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Although there are many sermons in Hollywood movies, Fatal Temptation is still the best film of its kind, because it not only reflects people's common concerns, but also has excellent production, superb acting and strong appreciation.