In my opinion, the best version of this story.
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
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