Fatale Movie Review

Fatale (2020)

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Written by: David Loughery
Directed by: Deon Taylor
Starring: Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Mike Colter
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
After a one-night stand, a successful married man finds himself entangled in a cunning police detective's latest investigation. 

Verdict
Some movies, even if you don't like them, you want to get to the end to see what happens. This isn't one of those movies. The dialog is stilted, the plot is contrived, and the ending is nonsense.
Skip it.

Review
I didn't have high hopes for this, the other movie I've seen directed by Deon Taylor, Traffik, wasn't good. Neither is this one.

This starts with a voice over which often isn't a good sign. Derrick (Michael Ealy) is rich and successful. This soon sets up a husband and wife fight with stilted dialog. It just isn't believable and happens just to push the plot forward.

Michael Ealy plays Derrick.

Derrick goes to Vegas for a bachelor party where his friend Rafe pushes him to have an affair. Derrick meets Val (Hilary Swank) for a one night stand. This doesn't capture any passion or spark between them. I have no reason to imagine they even like each other. There's no flirting, nothing.

Next this sets up an offer to buy Derrick and his friend Rafe's marketing company. Derrick doesn't want to sell which gives Rafe motive. The plot unfolds awkwardly. There's a list of plot points and this is checking them off in an attempt to build a mystery.

A break in and attack on Derrick brings in a detective. The same woman he had a one night stand with. The coincidence is highly unlikely. There's a lot of double talk between Derrick and Val about the case and their affair but it's forced.

Hilary Swank plays Val.

It's easy to see what the movie wants us to assume. It's just too easy to make Val, the woman, a bad guy. She has a messy past and for some reason she thought the one night stand was more than that yet she was in Vegas just for weekend as well. She's the jilted lover because otherwise there wouldn't be a plot. I don't understand her motive, and no one in this movie does. It's a major weakness. It lacks creativity to put all of this on the woman.

There are so many coincidences in this movie that would only happen when it's written for that effect. It never felt believable. This is a bunch of tired cliches and twisting plot points. This doesn't even end well.