8.16.09 Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons was somewhat of a struggle to get through, not because I didn't enjoy it, because I did quite a bit, but because me and Kristin are the worst at getting through movies in one shot. Easily sidelined by "OMG did you see this video, or read this article, or see this pic," the movie spent roughly a collective hour and 15 minutes paused as we worked our way through it. However, it sort of worked to my advantage because before we'd start it back up after each welcome distraction, I was able to wrap my head around things that had just happened, straighten out some names, and briefly figure out where things were headed since movies like that to me are like being lost a dark forest, but thankfully for Dangerous Liasons, Kristin was my flashlight with a built in compass.

The main focus is on the two worst humans ever, Valmont (John Malkovich) and the Marquise (Glenn Close) finding people's live they'd like to ruin just for fun. Valmont finds just the right woman to destroy in Michelle Pfeiffer's Madame de Tourvel, a married woman whom he hopes to seduce while preserving her moral obligation to her husband. The Marquise makes a game of it, if Valmont were to succeed and prove it in writing, then she would sleep with him. PS. They're cousins ::cringe::. The web becomes ever twisted and by the end it becomes a game of who can out awful the other between the Marquise and Valmont, and they both win.

Before this movie is a film about deception and deceit, Dangerous Liaisons is a period piece and they spare no expense making you believe you're in the 1700's. The sets are supremely authentic and coupled with the outlandishly over the top dresses and other wardrobe you're placed in the 18th century before you even bother to care about the actors or their characters. The way they integrated mirrors into many scenes was really impressive because not only did it add depth and dimension to every shot but I didn't catch any production gear or crew in any of the many shots where any inexperienced production would have had a slip up.

The characters are those kind you love to hate, but hate to love. They're some of the worst, most deceptive people to ever live, yet you find yourself rooting for them just to see what they'll do to each other next. It's really a neat and conflicting dynamic that they weave you into, convincing you you hate them, but secretly you love how naughty they are. Especially if you're Kristin who thinks the whole thing is “Fantastic.”

The dialogue is wicked. Malkovich and Close get piles of great lines, a lot of which are nice, round about ways of saying "Fuck you." What I liked most about it was that it wasn't overbearing in any way. Sometimes I get really tripped up by fancy dialogue because, admittedly, I'm not really well versed in any of that stuff (Cue Kristin "Do you think I understand it better because I'm smart?" <3), but the script for Dangerous Liaisons was crisp and easy to follow once you got people's names nailed down. Not to mention that the accents were done in such a way that it wasn't like being punched in the face with French, making it a lot easier to understand.

While it was really hard to totally connect with any of the characters for me, and disregarding that period dramas rarely speak to me, I totally enjoyed this for what it was, a spotless recreation of a time, and an impressive representation of a very complex story. Phenomenal sets, great acting, wicked and fun story.

4 stars. Down from 5 due to Keanu Reeves being awful and a scene at the end that I wasn't totally feeling.