Fatale: An Almost Genius Movie

I try not to judge movies by the title. Sometimes they're so vague you don't have a chance in hell of guessing the plot. Other times they're so obvious you already know the genre and how it's probably going to end when you see the poster. Such is the case for Fatale, a movie clearly invoking romantic thrillers like Fatal Attraction and noir's femme fatales, that is a step away from brilliant.

The Setup

Michael Ealy stars as Derrick Tyler, a frustrated man whose marriage has hit a rut. Hoping to revive his lust for life and his wife, Derrick decides to ditch his ring for one night and flirt with a pretty woman named Valerie. But when the flirting turns into a one night stand, Derrick's world may be turned upside down.

To talk about this movie the way I want to, I'm going to have to spoil it. My general thoughts are that everyone is giving their melodramatic best, but the script is too predictable and twisty for its own good. It lacks the central tension a lot of these movies have until the very end and it doesn't have any distinctive scenes you haven't seen before. So why do I think this movie is a step away from greatness? Because it almost subverts its entire genre. *Spoilers ahead*

At first glance it feels like we're going to get Fatal Attraction but with a vindictive policewoman. And because said policewoman is a white woman with anger issues and Derrick is a black man it amplifies the tension. 

That's how the movie plays things to start. The camera focuses on Valerie's glances when Derrick cuts and runs in the morning and when there's an attack on Derrick in his home, Valerie is one of the detectives assigned to the case. It feels like she's stalking Derrick even before she says or does anything. 

But then there's a twist. It looks like the reason Derrick's wife is acting distant is because she's sleeping with his best friend and they tried to have Derrick killed to get him out of the way cleanly. All of which is reveal by Valerie, who has problem of her including a custody battle. On paper I really like this. Two people who are on edge trying to see if they can trust each other and develop a relationship while working out what to do about Derrick's murderous partners (his friend is also his business partner).

It has a lot of potential for a cat and mouse game and turns everything about the genre, including the title on its head.

And then Derrick's wife and friend are murdered, Derrick is the main suspect, and its abundantly clear that Valerie was the one who did it as some kind of ploy to get custody of her daughter. Buh bye fun premise, hello old stand by. Cue the rush to get someone to believe Derrick and final face-off with at least one fake death before the real death.

It stinks because even though this wasn't going to be ground-breaking it had all of the ground-work to do something different, and then it squanders it.

Verdict: Disappointing

Though functional, the glimpse of more intriguing premise works against the film. 4/10