RATING: 2.5/5 Bag
of Chips
Another month, another Netflix original thriller! Fatal Affair is now available for your streaming and viewing pleasure, directed by Peter Sullivan and starring Nia Long and Omar Epps. But does it deliver on its promised thrills, or is it just another paint-by-numbers title to add on Netflix’s vast library of original content?
THE MOVIE
Ellie Warren (Nia Long) has the perfect life – complete with a successful career as a lawyer, loving husband Marcus (Stephen Bishop) and smart, lovely daughter Deborah (Aubrey Cleland). The film sees the family moving away from the city of San Francisco and into a big, beautiful seaside house, while Marcus recovers from a car accident. However, Ellie discloses her marital dissatisfaction to her best friend Courtney (Maya Stojan) before crossing paths with her old college friend David Hammond (Omar Epps), who just started his job in the law firm where Ellie works. A night of semi-indiscretion leads to the unfolding of David’s creepiness in which Ellie gets trapped in the middle of, risking her marriage, home life and the safety of her loved ones.
MY OPINION
Despite calling itself a thriller, there’s something so safe and non-threatening about Fatal Affair, which could remind viewers of straight-to-DVD low-budget movies. This doesn’t make it bad – in fact, it is quite serviceable as just an easy, entertaining watch with a little level of tension for it not to become boring. The filmmaking tone and script quality clearly leans toward being soap opera-ish, with the actors’ performances consistent with what the film is going for.
Nia Long is quite fun to watch as the self-assured but sexually frustrated (at least in the first part of the movie) Ellie, just carrying herself charmingly all throughout the movie without the need to be overly hysterical and unnecessarily dramatic in her performance. Her supporting cast, particularly Maya Stojan and Stephen Bishop, delivered decent performances that walked a tight rope in balancing hammy cheesiness and believability – given the kind of material they were working with.
One thing that could have elevated the movie a bit – but sadly didn’t – is Omar Epps’ performance. In this movie, Epps lacked the weight and character nuance to be a looming threat, and it almost felt like he was just breezing through his scenes just to push the film’s plot forward.
THE WRAP-UP
If you’re looking for heavy, blood-curdling thrills and expecting a great erotic thriller, then Fatal Affair will certainly disappoint. However, if you just feel like watching Netflix on a lazy afternoon or evening, give this one a try. You’ll experience nothing new, but it won’t be an utter waste of time. It’s just okay.