Director: Roger Kumble
Producer: Neal A Moritz
Co-Producer: Heather Zeegen
Director of Photography: Theo Van De Sande
Starring:
Ryan Phillippe - Sebastian Valmont
Sarah Michelle Geller - Kathryn Merteuil
Reese Witherspoon - Annette Hargrove |
I've thought about it, and I guess this film was spot on. "Cruel Intentions" are exactly what this film is about and all the characters succeed. I did not like the film. I did not enjoy it. But perhaps I wasn't supposed to.
"Cruel Intentions" is directed and written by Roger Kumble, of "Dumb and Dumber" fame, and the film is "suggested" by the book "Les Liasons Dangereuses" (Dangerous Liaisons) by Choderlos de Laclos. You may have seen the film "Dangerous Liaisons" starring Glenn Close, John Malcovich and Michelle Pfeiffer, and simply by reputation, I would suggest it is a far better film. But the characters in "Cruel Intentions" are people of today, unlike those of hundreds of years ago as in the original film.
Sebastian and his step-sister Kathryn are two teenagers who have too much money, no parents around and too much time on their hands. They also have reputations to uphold. Sebastian is a very attractive boy who drives a black convertible and prides himself on sleeping with any girl he chooses while having absolutely no feeling for them. Kathryn appears perfect, newly elected school president, but with a cunning that sees her plotting a sorry revenge for a boy that dumped her.
The plot thickens when Sebastian (played by Ryan Phillippe) bets Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Geller, both of "I Know What You Did Last Summer") that he will sleep with the new principal's daughter Annette, who has publicly stated that she will not have sex before marriage. If he loses Kathryn gets his car; if he wins he gets to have sex with her, his only denied conquest.
The plot is shallow, and so is the outcome. The characters, though fairly performed by the actors, are given no backgrounds, no histories, so they start baseless and remain that way. Even when Sebastian finally learns the error of his ways, I feel no sympathy for him, which I think I was supposed to because the music was all mushy.
What I wondered at the end was, where was the triumph? Obviously the way of the promiscuous is a path fraught with disaster, but does it follow that the girl who waits for love but is actually really deceptive should win. I found it hard to find a character that I wanted to sympathise with; surely that isn't a good sign. It is a disturbing film. It has good elements ready to work in its favour: lust, revenge and seduction, but I just didn't get sucked in.
Certainly, there are those out there that would enjoy it. It is now available in major video stores and if you split the cost of the hire, you may not have wasted your money. Unfortunately I paid all $6 and had no fun.
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