Bored blue-ribbon beauties engage in a high-stakes game of seduction. A wager is set upon the seduction of a staunchly chaste wife of an absent lawyer. Consummate cad, Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich,) is to seduce Madam de Torvel (Michelle Pfifer) and produce proof in order to secure his long-standing desire: a ravenous night of passion with his friend and former lover, the Marquise de Merteuil (Glen Glose.) His game is soon complicated when he develops feelings for his target, betraying his enduring reputation as a philanderer.
The cadence for Dangerous Liaisons seems completely based on the acting style of its stars, Glen Close and John Malkovich. The mercurial Malkovich bursts out in an explosion of volume and action, while Close remains calm, collected and dignified. The casting harms "the package." The plot, therefore feels clunky and the seduction that is supposed to be taking place, does not for the audience. It's left wondering where the caresses have gone and the gentleness that is supposed to turn our head and weaken our knees. Malkovich is too ballistic to shoulder Valmont because he doesn't have the suave savvy; this role, however, doesn't shy me away from seeing any of his others and he really did work from what he had.
Remakes are the same stories told with a simple shift of genres or settings or both. For example, Romeo and Juliet is a revenge romance set in Medieval Verona. A remake of the tale, set among the greaser gangs of New York, is a little musical called West Side Story. Dangerous Liaisons is set during post-revolutionary France. Whereas Cruel Intentions is set in cosmopolitan New York City.
Cruel Intentions follows the same storyline, except using high school students. In their senior year, step-siblings Seabastian (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) wager on weather Sebastian can seduce Annette (Reese Witherspoon,) a virgin waiting for true love. In this case, it's not just Sebastian's reputation on the line, but his Classic Roadster, his prized possession.
Gellar and Phillippe are evenly seductive and brutal and twice as lethal. The balance makes the plot more compelling. Witherspoon, as well, gives a warmth to Annette that Pfiffer's Torval lacked. I felt more drawn to these characters than that of Dangerous Liaisons'. The chemistry within the entire cast is fluid, making me emotionally desperate for Sebastian's quest and pulling for him in the love story . As a result, we are devastated when it all comes crashing down. The setup in the denouement is executed with finesse.
Frankly, the remake is better. There's an equal balance of drama and tension. And the payoff rewards the audience for their diligence, offering hope as well as comeuppance. And the cadence is smoother, the chemistry better, resulting in a non-traumatised plot delivery. This package easily sells and I'm buying!!
****
In: Ryan Phillippe
Out: John Malkovich
Coming Soon: Hitchhikkers Guide to the Galaxy
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