Revealing mistake: In the first scene where we are introduced to Alex Forrest at the bar during the cocktail party, she is almost always smoking cigarettes that are not lit. She continually dashes out ashes that aren't there and there is never any smoke coming from the cigarettes.
Deliberate mistake: When Michael Douglas pretends to be hurt in the field, Glenn Close says, "You bastard," and her hair is not in the sunlight. In the very next shot it is. (00:27:00)
Continuity mistake: When the phone rings as Beth paints, Beth puts her roller in the tray and goes to answer the phone. When she returns the roller is in a different position than it was before.
Chosen answer: With questions such as this, one can either speculate, or one can go directly to the source. So, using IMDb, I looked up the names of the crew on "Fatal Attraction." The costume designer is listed as Ellen Mirojnick. The set decoration was the responsibility of George DeTittas, Sr. I found Ellen Mirojnick on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Ellenmirojnick/posts/263462080524551?comment_id=263621453841947&offset=0&total_comments=2¬if_t=feed_comment), and posed the question to her. This was the reply she gave: " (I)n our process there is always a purpose for a palette to tell a story dramatically. I chose white for her character because white is powerful and although not essentially a "color" it reflects all other colors, which would in turn reflect where we were in the story. I thought through her silhouettes and use of shades of whites, it would reflect her mood and not give away the demon she kept hidden. WHITE is powerful... As she was!" I have not yet been able to track down Mr. DeTittas for comment. But I have posed the additional question to Ms. Mirojnick regarding whether the color palette motif was a decision shared by different departments on the film. Ms. Mironjnick added the following comments: "she wears white to discuise (sic) her darkness, that somehow is revealed in certain places.. white is all things combined .. it radiatesits (sic) the confusion as if she was in an asylum, but her own."
Michael Albert