It was a hot summers day in 1999 and my friends and I waited anxiously to enter the movie theatre. Our small group of twelve giggling teenage girls was huddled, staring dreamily at the poster of the movie we were about to view. We were very excited to get in. Not because it was air conditioned inside. Not because we could smell the popcorn and our mouths were salivating. And not because Rhea had drank an entire Slurpee and now had to use the ’’facilities’’. We were about to watch Cruel Intentions, starring our new ’’oh-my-gosh-he’s-handsome-I’m-gonna-faint’’ boy Ryan Phillippe. Suddenly, the doors to the theatre opened and hoardes of girls pushed, elbowed, and shoved their way into the theatre like a stampeding herd of buffalo. We were not injured, of course, as we had elbowed, pushed, and shoved our way to the front, then made a mad dash to the coveted absolute centre of the theatre and settled in for a drool fest.
The story is taken from Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel, ’’Les Liaisons Dangereuses’’. In 1988, Dangerous Liaisons was released, starring John Malkovich as Valmont, and Uma Thurman as Cecile. A few months later in 1988, Valmont appeared on the silver screen, starring Colin Firth as Valmont and Fairuza Balk as Cecile. Having seen these movies previously (and over and over), I knew what the movie was going to be like. The intrigue and basic plot are kept in line with the book and previous movies, but certain elements and the setting is changed.
Characters
Annette Hargrove is played by the innocent (looking) Reese Witherspoon. She conveys the right level of maturity and immaturity that one would expect from this character. Following the act of Meg Tilly in Valmont is a hard act to follow and she played it wonderfully.
Sebastian Valmont is played by Ryan Phillippe, who I’ve already mentioned is drop-dead gorgeous. Based on appearance alone, he looks like a womanizer and combined with his smooth and graceful movements, he plays a very good one. I think he did a better job than Colin Firth in this character, as I actually felt emotion towards his character at the end.
Katherine is played by Buffy’s own Sarah Michelle Gellar. She is Sebastian’s step-sister and the two have a sexually charged relationship. She plays the perfect lusty, jealous, sultry villainess. This character was more developed than Annette Benning’s character in Valmont. She played it so well, it helped me understand Valmont much better.
Cecile is played by Selma Blair. Selma plays this character perfectly (as she is naturally this way). She acts quite the naive new girl, as well as an airhead. I thought Fairuza Balk played a better Cecile, as I dislike Selma Blair as an actress.
The Basic Plot
Annette is the new headmaster’s virgin daughter, and she just wrote a magazine article on her reasons to keep her virginity for marriage. Sebastian, being the womanizer that he is, wants her. Katherine bets him that he can’t get her into bed before the school year starts. If he loses, she gets to have his prized car. If he wins, he gets to go to bed with her. Hmmmm, tough choice. Sleep with a beautiful blonde or sleep with evil-looking step-sister? Sebastian accepts the bet and sets out to seduce Annette.
Cecile is the new girl in school. Being a popular girl in school, Katherine is given responsibility to show Cecile the ropes and help her adjust to the new school. Somewhere along the way Katherine finds out that Cecile is dating a guy she used to date. Jealous and furious at the guy, Katherine talks Sebastian into sleeping with Cecile and make this guy jealous. He is hesitant, but does it.
gratuitous--but not gross--sexy scenes happen
I don’t want to give away the plot, but in short, Sebastian does what he sets out to do. The guy Katherine was trying to make jealous got jealous and......I can’t say. Katherine gets her ’’just desserts’’, and Annette is made the happiest girl in the world. Go see the movie.
Recommendations
I sincerely recommend that you watch one of the earlier versions of Les Liaisons Dangereuses so you can truly appreciate the artistic merit of this movie, far beyond the sexual nature, but more for the relationships that are developed in this movie.
Warning
Watching Ryan Phillippe on the screen will cause periods of fainting, breaking out into a cold sweat, and giggling uncontrollably (in girls); and jealousy and mock-throwing-up (in guys). There is a lot of sexuality displayed on screen and should not be viewed by immature persons (of any age), or by people who cannot handle watching such things on TV. Also, this movie will make you think about your own relationships, and what is important to you.