Having an affair has never been more a bad idea than in this classic thriller from director Adrian Lyne. It's a bit hard to believe Michael Douglas' character would choose to cheat on such a gorgeous wife, played by the stunning and sympathetic Anne Archer, yet the skilled Glen Close is able to create the kind of femme fatal that makes such an unthinkable choice believable. This film has been called a monster film and it does structurally mirror the classic horror film motif, with Close being the monster that punishes the hero for a mistake. Think Frankenstein if you don't believe me.
Yet it's more than that, it's a drama about a deeply disturbed woman corrupted by a likable but ultimately flawed male authority. It amazes me that Michael Douglas' character never seems to regret his actions, his lying and his anger for being caught doing something in his mind is "so innocent". The true victims in this film are not Douglas or Close but Anne Archer and her daughter. Affairs might not always become a cinematic violence but they always hurt the innocent. Grade: A
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