Nia Long and Omar Epps Star in 'Fatal Affair'

(l-r) Omar Epps and Nia Long star in the Netflix drama, Fatal Affair

By Darlene Donloe

Nia Long is an actress known for being proficient in both comedy and drama. This week she flexes her drama muscle alongside the equally adept Omar Epps in writer-director Peter Sullivan's Netflix thriller Fatal Affair. 

While the film is slick, there are no surprises to this by-the-book thriller. Long, Epps and Stephen Bishop, who plays Marcus, Long's husband, all give worthy performances, but there just isn't much to hold on to in this drama. 

The story goes like this. Long plays Ellie, a successful lawyer with a college-age daughter (Aubrey Cleland) and a supportive husband (Bishop). Although Ellie thinks her marriage isn't popping like it should, she tries to hold on - that is - until an old friend named David, played by Epps decided to reenter her life after 20 years. 

Well, guess what happens? David gets a job with Ellie's firm. Whatta surprise!! As expected, the two meet at a bar for drinks and wham, bam, David makes his move. The two end up in a restroom where they very nearly have sex. It turns out David knew where Ellie worked because he wanted a reunion.

It turns out David her anger management issues and has delusions about his relationship with Ellie.  Things really start heating up after he shows up to Ellie's house with her friend, Courtney, for a dinner party. Courtney is unaware that the two of them know each other. After his persistence becomes a problem, the real drama and terror begins. 

Sullivan plays his hand early, opening the film with a murder scene involving David's ex-wife and her boyfriend. 

There are a number of ways Sullivan could have gone to present this drama, instead, he chose to make it a Fatal Affair. 

On the DONLOE SCALE, (D) don't bother, (O) Oh, no, N (needs work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent), Fatal Affair gets an N-L (needs work-likeable).