Review of Dangerous Liaisons (1988) by Maico * — 04 Mar 2008

I don't know why I watched Cruel Intentions before i'd seen this but for some odd reason I seem to prefer Cruel Intentions. It is a culmination of things about both films that just made me enjoy the other film better.

John Malkovich is by far the best actor in this film and he proves it in his wonderful performance. His last scene was beautiful. Glenn Close was brilliant as well. Although I like Keanu Reeves I did not like him in this.

He annoyed me and his performance was terrible. I'm not exactly sure if it was the performance in itself or because he was bouncing off of John Malkovich but either way it was awful. Uma Thurman just annoyed me as she looked out of place compared to the other actors.

One of few Michelle Pfeiffer performances where I actually thought to myself she can act. I liked that the character was a lot more complex than Intentions but I didn't like that even at the end of the film I was not sure if he really did love her and if so why exactly did he do what he did.

That was a lot clearer in the re-make. I usually prefer the originals but this one just didn't seem to appeal as much as the other. Glenn Close's scene in the theatre at the end was just plain weird.

The very last scene however was done very well. I liked that with this character you get to see her vunerable and remorseful whereas with Intentions you don't get that. Intentions seemed to fit together a lot better.

I would recommend both films because they are both good in their own ways.