Fatal Attraction - Movie Analysis Essay

Introduction

Fatal Attraction, a movie directed by Lyne Adrian, shows audiences the extent to which sex can be dangerous. Dan Gallagher, a character played by Michael Douglas, is a married man having a long affair over the weekend with Glenn Close, playing Alex Forest, who is a co-worker and a single woman (Dearden, 1978). The two commits an extramarital affair, which influences Forest to obsession and subsequently tries to disrupt Gallagher's married life. The trait of bipolar is evident in the movie, whereby one experiences a period characterized by both abnormal elevated moods and depressions. The bipolar character begins to manifests, mostly following the love affair that occurs between Gallager and Forest. This paper presents a review of the movie Fatal Attraction with an emphasis on the bipolar character.

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The movie portrays Alex Forrest as a psychopathic, a woman who is obsessed with love and seeks revenge. She presents behaviors that indicate that she is experiencing a severe level of stalking. She appears to use the opportunity of the love relationship to enjoy a moment of extreme happiness following the depression that she has been undergoing. The mix of the behavior that she exhibits, as a result, presents her with a severe mental disorder since most of her practices hardly appear normal. There is a considerable connection between stalking and the emergence of a bipolar condition in individuals. According to Maran, Loera, and D'Argenio (2019), more than half of the number of people who have been at one point associated with the guilt of incidents related to stalking, risk experiencing a severe form of borderline personality disorder. She experiences a constant shift in moods seen in the form of happiness and depression, and this can be traced with previous mantel conditions from which she suffered before.

The movie presents the character of bipolarism as more a condition influenced by gender, males and females are affected at different levels even though other mental health factors could also serve as contributing factors. It is important to note that the degree of femininity that Alex exhibits present a fearful and toxic condition to the individuals with whom she interacts. The influence is seen to overcome Gallagher, who is carried away by Forest's strange and unique behaviors that he rarely experiences. Forest bipolar trait serves as a significant representation of the psychotic and possessive power of the women, especially when she completely dominates the man, who could easily forget about his family (Dearden, 1978). Having had no stable affair before, she could have a feeling of a complicated life whereby she lacked a proper affair. The relationship that she manages with a colleague at work is an opportunity for her to revive the social connection that she has been missing for quite some time. However, her social behavior remains unstable now that her past experiences are also affecting her, and she presents an alteration between happiness and depression; a potential sign of bipolar trait.

The bipolar character is presented as a result of getting in touch with those experiencing stalking; most of the instances of stalking are recorded by the people who previously had a relationship with a person who is undergoing a similar situation. This suggests and underpins the level of social satisfaction that she was looking for and finally achieved by beginning a love relationship with Gallagher. The obsession that Alex Forrest had was for the man she had been looking forward to quite long; however, she was unable to get the opportunity due to severe circumstances in his life. According to Maran, Loera, and D'Argenio (2019), the idea reveals that the mental conditions attached to an individual can influence the other as well, who is afterward driven crazy; Gallagher feels that the current relationship offers him the best level of satisfaction that he probably missed before. One of the circumstances behind the resulting behaviors includes being closely related to Beth and Ellen as family members, and the occurrence some relationship between Alex and Dan, which however lacked a meaningful or deep meaningful affection before; Alex decides to clinch on the opportunity which causes further assumptions of severe mental health issues.

Conclusion

Bipolarism is a critical character in the movie which revolves around the life of Forest, mostly manifesting through the relationship she manages to have with Gallagher. The relationship marks a point of transition in her life following some unbearable social conditions she initially faced; she lacks a proper affection which she believed could only come from a man. She currently experiences happy moments with the man, which would make her forget the previous sad moments, which affected her mental existence. However, the depressive moments are still evident in her as she is unable to forget some incidents which could have deprived her of the social relationships she long for. The mix of depression and extreme happiness is a strange condition that she is presenting; hence she is connected to the bipolar behavior and disorder.

References

Dearden, J. (1978). Fatal Attraction [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAsBghop-hw&list=PLzmxZW0iDTySt4D4ft9izUT8q2VQzBL90

Maran, D., Loera, B., & D'Argenio, A. (2019). Health Care Professionals' Knowledge of Stalking Perpetrators, Victims, Behaviors, and Coping Strategies: A Preliminary Study among Italian Hospitals. The Scientific World Journal, 2019, 1-9. doi: 10.1155/2019/9190431