Review of Dangerous Liaisons (1988) by Peter A — 16 Aug 2013

Think Game of Thrones, but only if by "thrones" you mean "sex." Dangerous Liaisons is about two French nobles, one immoral the other amoral, locked in a heated & devious competition using sex to degrade others, and ultimately themselves.

The big key to this movie is who portrays the 2 main characters. John Malkovich is frighteningly great as the depraved Valmont. He gives us a vain, arrogant man interested in his own conquests, until his plot to seduce Michelle Pfeiffer's moral character backfires when his fake love for her turns into real love, and he realizes he's been played by a woman.

Glenn Close was equally as awesome as de Mertuil. Where Valmont was motivated by his lust, de Mertuil was cold & calculating, motivated only by power and vengeance. Her icy, smooth performance resonates, and surely had to be a factor in landing her role in Damages about 20 years later.

Pfeiffer was also good, though she's often better as a seductress not as the seduced. Her strong moral front is easy to see through, rendering the inevitable conquest less poignant than it should have been.

Uma Thurman & Keanu Reeves seemed like they were only handed their roles to give up-and-coming stars a chance to appear in a drama. Thurman wasn't great, but she wasn't terrible - she gave us a decent naive, wide-eyed innocent girl with an obvious sexual curiosity.

Reeves, however, was terrible. Like most of his roles, he sounds like he's reciting lines and he can't shake his Bill & Ted voice.