Review of Dangerous Liaisons (1988) by Filipeneto — 02 Feb 2020

A visually beautiful film, where evil and perversity show their most attractive and seductive side.

The Baroque period was a time that became history for its wars (Seven Years' War, Spanish Succession War), for the emergence of art and opera (Handel, Vivaldi, Carlos Seixas, Bach etc. in music, Velasquez, Caravaggio , van Dyck, Josefa de Óbidos, Rembrandt etc. in art), for the elaborate clothes and wigs worn by the rich and for the aristocracy, for royal absolutism and for their gigantic palaces (like Versailles, Sanssouci, Charlottenburg, Peterhoff, Tsarskoye Selo, Mafra, El Escorial etc.) But the Baroque was also a period of some moral relaxation, particularly for the upper classes. Figures such as Giacomo Casanova or the infamous Marquis de Sade are precisely from this period. And it is around two particularly infamous figures that the film takes place.

The marquise Isabelle de Merteuil is a manipulative, cold and cruel widow, who has a long-standing affair with the promiscuous and rude Viscount Valmont. It is she who asks Valmont to seduce the pure young Cécile de Volanges, who was destined to marry a man whom Merteuil hated. The viscount hesitates, preferring to try to seduce Madame de Tourvel, married and highly moralistic, due to the challenge this represents. But together they will jeopardize their and others' honor and feelings.

In this film, the story combines seduction, cruelty and passion quite well. The main characters, played brilliantly by Glenn Close and John Malkovich (one of the most notable films in the career of both actors), are truly despicable but have style and class, and that is what makes them alluring. Evil can be attractive, as we all know. Beside them, we have a great Michelle Pfeiffer, living the golden years of her career, and a young Uma Thurman, emerging, showing a developing talent as she played a Baroque Lolita. Keanu Reeves also appears, in a somewhat discreet role but that the actor effectively fulfills without having the space to show more.

Directed by Stephen Frears, the film has excellent costumes and sets. The use of excellent filming locations such as the Château de Neuville, Vincennes and the Montansier Theater in France helped a lot to the beauty and realism of the final product. The film also features a photograph with good contrast and regular filming.