Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

A sumptuously mounted and photographed celebration of artful wickedness, betrayal, and sexual intrigue among depraved 18th-century French aristocrats, Dangerous Liaisons (based on Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses) is seductively decadent fun. The villainous heroes are the Marquise De Merteuil (Glenn Close) and the Vicomte De Valmont (John Malkovich), who have cultivated their mutual cynicism into a highly developed and exquisitely mannered form of (in-)human expression. Former lovers, they now fancy themselves rather like demigods whose mutual desires have evolved beyond the crudeness of sex or emotion. They ritualistically act out their twisted affections by engaging in elaborate conspiracies to destroy the lives of their less calculating acquaintances, daring each other to ever-more-dastardly acts of manipulation and betrayal. Why? Just because they can; it's their perverted way of getting get their kicks in a dead-end, pre-Revolutionary culture. Among their voluptuous and virtuous prey are fair-haired angels played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman, who have never looked more ripe for ravishing. When the Vicomte finds himself beset by bewilderingly genuine emotions for one of his victims, the Marquise considers it the ultimate betrayal and plots her heartless revenge. Dangerous Liaisons is a high-mannered revel for the actors, who also include Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick, and Keanu Reeves. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com essential video

A great adaptation of a great story...

DANGEROUS LIAISONS is the PERFECT good vs. evil story. The two main characters just so happen to be the sleaziest people to ever grace the big screen - or the literary world, for that matter!

You all know the basic plot of the film. It's an intense game of seduce and destroy that keeps you on the edge of your seat. At moments, it is actually quite disturbing. Glenn Close and John Malkovich were the perfect people to portray the evil duo. The best thing about them is that they allow their characters to be multi-dimensional, rather than the cardboard cut out villians of CRUEL INTENTIONS, another film based on this material. You also have the satisfaction of seeing the bad guys get it in the end, yet the film never lets you forget that the innocent end up suffering as well. It's not a happy ending.

If you haven't been introduced to this story yet, see this film. You won't regret it! It's amazing.

Nominated for several Oscars, including Best Actress - Michelle Pfeiffer, as you've never seen her before! Amazing performance. Also, be on the lookout for a young Uma Thurman. Keanu Reeves is also makes an appearance. December 15, 2008

Troublemaker.

Dangerous Liaisons starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer star in this classic film. All three stars bring excitement, strength, and charmisa to their roles. Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman also star as supporting and naive characters. Close is no stranger to playing an unappealing dame. I like this film but the language and costumes are too distracting to fully enjoy this old-fashioned film. July 17, 2008

Don't Pass This One Over

Dangerous Liaisons
This movie, to say the least, is very different. It is a period piece from the 1700s and takes place in France. Vicomte de Valmont and Marquise de Mertuil have become obsessed with destroying people's life. They find it entertaining and treat it like a sick game. Vicomte was summoned by Marquise to carry out the deed of deflowering a family member of hers, Cecile de Volanges. Cecile is set to marry Marquise's ex-husband and Marquise wants her revenge for him leaving her. Vicomte refuses to accept such a petty task and claims he is on his own mission. His mission is to corrupt another women named Madame de Tourvel, of course by deflowering her and destroying sense of moral. He will be leaving for his Aunt's home to find her soon. The two make a bet that Vicomte cannot finish his personal mission; if he does then Marquise will sleep with him.

Vicomte is one of the most devious main characters I have ever seen. Every move he makes is cunning and used to rip apart his victims until they fall into his arms. Marquise often helps him in his sinister plots to destroy these women. This is one of my favorite villains of all time, and I am happy that he is the main character.

Marquise eventually makes it able for Vicomte to do both assignments by moving Cecile into Vicomte's Aunt's home. Cecile had desired a young man named Chevalier Danceny, played by Keanu Reeves, and Marquise suggested a move into the country with Vicomte's Aunt. From there Vicomte approaches both tasks in hopes to win over Marquise.

The story is wonderful and it continues to amaze you how evil Vicomte really is. He smiles after every single sick move he makes just to show you how evil he is. Before the end of the movie you will see a different side of him though, a side that cares less about Marquise and more about one of his victims. I recommend this movie to anyone looking for something interesting and new. July 3, 2008

Great film

Fantastic film. Manages to convey the tone of the original book better than other versions. Casting is unexpected, but John Malkovich is brilliant, as is Glenn Close. (Uma Thurman is just strange as Cecile.) May 12, 2008

Beautiful to the eyes yet chilling to the touch; a cinematic masterpiece...

My adoration of period pieces should have brought me to this film a long time ago, truly, but sadly I had never even heard of this movie until 1999 when a certain `Cruel Intentions' blazed its way into my life (I still kick myself for forgetting to include that film in my top ten of `99). After expressing my devotion to the beautifully twisted film my cousin asked me if I had seen the film that inspired it. She then proceeded to tell me about this film called `Dangerous Liaisons' starring Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer and suddenly I found myself experiencing heart palpitations beyond normal. I just had to see this movie immediately.

And I did; that very evening in fact.

`Dangerous Liaisons', based on Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel `Les Liaisons Dangereuses', finds French aristocrats (and former lovers) Marquise Isabelle de Merteuill and Victomte Sebastien de Valmont weaving their schemes of betrayal and deceit all over 18th century France. Isabelle and Sebastien fancy themselves with destruction of the people around them, hurting others for their own selfish pleasures and taking pride in their manipulations and conspiracies. Issues arise though when Sebastien finds himself falling into love with his latest victim, the young and beautiful Madame Marie de Tourvel, and this spark of genuine emotion derails his tryst with Isabelle and threatens to destroy everything in the process.

`Dangerous Liaisons' is superbly crafted. Everything from the beautifully detailed set pieces to the stunning costumes and cinematography to the brilliant script and impeccable direction are all top-notch and carry this film to a whole other level.

What really drives it over the edge though is the phenomenal acting on the parts of the three leads. John Malkovich may not posses the same dashing good looks as Ryan Phillippe but he has undeniable charm and a firm grasp on his character. The development of Sebastian in `Cruel Intentions' is a different direction than that taken for Sebastien in `Dangerous Liaisons' and so it's truly unfair to compare the two performances for ultimately they are different people all together. Michelle Pfeiffer is stunning as usual here, but her control and innocence when fleshing out Marie is so mature and flawless that I'm almost tempted to say this is her finest performance to date (but Michelle is so good in everything it's hard to say that for sure). Taking the majority of the praise and admiration though is Glenn Close who is ravishingly superior in this film. Her performance is luminous, truly absorbing and commanding and delicious to watch. She is the ultimate villain; cunning and witty; able to manipulate the audience into loving our loathing of her. I'm soured by her Oscar loss; but at least she received the nomination.

The supporting players hold their weight, especially Uma Thurman who is able to transcend the confines of her character and stand out as memorable indeed. Swoosie Kurtz delivers strongly here as well. Keanu Reeves is an actor I detest strongly. I have never felt he delivered strongly, except maybe in the first `Matrix' film where his deadpan delivery aided in the formation of Neo. Aside from that though, he continues to bore me with his lack of talent. In `Dangerous Liaisons' he manages to entertain me slightly, delivering maybe his best performance (thankfully it's not a focal point of the film) and so I'll refrain from attacking him full on here. He is far from a good actor, but he doesn't disgust me here (I may be blinded by my adoration of the balance of the film though).

What I love most about `Dangerous Liaisons' is its ability to expose the dangers of love and betrayal, of wealth and greed and selfishness. At its deepest point, `Dangerous Liaisons' is a film about the decline of morals and the destructive nature of our own carnal desires.

In the end I have nothing but the utmost love for `Dangerous Liaisons'. If you are a fan of the modern adaptation that is `Cruel Intentions' then prepare yourself for the ultimate treat and rent this masterpiece. Steven Frears (who should have received the Direction nomination for this) brilliantly crafts a film that embraces its strengths and amplifies them marvelously. It's a period piece; it's a drama; it's a thriller; it's a black comedy and it's a romance, and it succeeds effortlessly on every account. May 5, 2008

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