How my stars work…
5-star (Gone Girl)
4-star (Single White Female)
3-star (Unfaithful)
2-star (A Perfect Murder)
1-star – (Adulterers)
These are examples of how I’ve rated similar movies in the past. Noooope, da lil handicapped homie does NOT watch many infidelity movies but when he does, it ALL comes down to emotions. I grade any “couple” type of flick by how emotional it makes me. Am I screaming at the tv about what a character does wrong? Does it make me “side eye” my own wife? Do I see my gaaaah damn self trapped in the mess? Plot twists, special effects and the sheer amount of “silly/dumb” situations push a movie into 5 status OR drop it into 1 status.
Fatal Affair wasn’t baaaaaaad. The plot made perfect sense. Both stars played their roles well, albeit both have subtle shortcomings. What do I mean? Nia Long doesn’t have a wide spectrum of emotions in her acting repertoire, sadness, shock, anger, fear never look too authentic. Omar Epps is better or worse but not by much. Most of the side characters were on point (*hints* towards Maya Stojan was NOT). Shoot, I agreed with damn near every move Ellie Warren (Nia Long) made! Without ruining things, the film jacks up with “the sheer amount of ‘silly/dumb’ situations”. There’s just waaaay too many close calls and “Maaaan, what was that?” moments. Not enough to trash the entire flick because the rest was good but it does affect final scores. I appreciated that the thing wraps up in an hour and a half. Nothing kills a drama like being too long. There weren’t many surprises at all and my wife hates when I mumble exactly what will happen next. #NotMyFault If I had to pick the single, most average aspect, it would be the music. Boooooo. Very, very, Lifetime movie-ish.
Final Rating: 3 stars
Previous Related Post: I May Destroy You (HBO,2020)
