I watched this for the third time the other night and I’m a bit baffled at the overall low rating for it, because I really do find it to be a really decent suspense/thriller type of flick that should have no problem entertaining most. It’s not as if it’s non-stop action, but there’s hardly a dull moment. [spoiler]I stayed engaged the full duration wondering what was coming next. Maybe it’s the ending that’s bothering people. It’s not a favorite type of mine, but it’s common enough, and it was plenty suitable here.[/spoiler]

My first watch was probably somewhere close to its release date, which was about 18 years ago. I’ve re-watched many other films that I first saw with younger eyes and had different feelings about them, just having changed as I’ve aged. But I know I enjoyed this film back then and I enjoyed it in the now too.

The second watch came about years later after having the [spoiler]bee[/spoiler] scene keep coming to mind, thus I posted in a “what’s that movie” forum to find out the forgotten title.

I had a third time watch with my boyfriend, simply because I wanted to share with him a film that had always stuck in my head so. Practically the whole time my boyfriend shouted, [spoiler]“Cameras!”[/spoiler] He enjoyed it though, and also doesn’t agree with the lower ratings. He says the suspense was well done and he can be quite critical of film making, which he’s dabbled in himself. [spoiler]The twist did pretty much immediately click for me the moment Susan Sarandon’s character talked about getting pregnant when much younger to her father. It took my boyfriend until the actual reveal, which makes me wonder how quickly I figured it out during the other watches.[/spoiler]

I’m not sure that Emily Blunt was a household name yet for me in my previous viewings and I kept thinking, [spoiler]she makes for a great “bad guy.” Some of those looks she gave![/spoiler]

_**Fatal attraction in Melbourne; not really, but sort of**_

A family in Melbourne (Sam Neill & Susan Sarandon) is threatened when a young woman attracts the husband at work (Emily Blunt). But is she really a threat or is the wife just paranoid?

"Irresistible" (2006) is a drama/mystery/thriller that throws in bits of “Fatal Attraction” (1987), “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “Poison Ivy” (1992), “Single White Female” (1992) and “What Lies Beneath” (2000), but is unique enough to stand on its own.

The style of the filmmaking took me a little bit of time to acclimate to. I suppose you could criticize it as a Lifetime movie with a bigger budget. But there are several things to appreciate, including some well-done visuals and the inevitable revelations.

Neill is always effective as the male protagonist. Sarandon is past her physical prime, but still in shape and dramatically effective. As for Blunt, this is one of her earlier roles. So she’s attractively youthful, but too thin; she’d fill out better for “Wind Chill” (2007).

The film runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

GRADE: B-