A very fine, smashingly entertaining film about love and intrigue in pre revolution era France. Great costumes and swift direction keep the pace fast but not overly so. We get a chance to savor everything laid out for us but not so much as to make it seem pompous as is the case with so many other "costume" dramas. The film can be enjoyed on so many levels: as comedy, drama, sex drama and tragedy that it seems to be able to please everyone.
The cast is excellent overall. Despite being rather odd looking, John Malkovich is perfect and you can clearly understand why he would be so taken with the lovely Michelle Pfeiffer whose sweet gentility hides an unbridled passion. There are plenty of men who use their style and will to compensate for their looks and manage to bed any number of fine women.
As for Glenn Close as the Marquise de Merteuil, she's perfect when she's being conniving and manipulative especially in the early scenes with Malkovich. The two have smary smart aleck behavior of school children who think they know better than everyone else. Their snobbery is both repellent and a joy to watch. The problem with Close's performance comes later when Valmont comes to claim his `reward' which is to have sex with Merteuil. Close has never presented well as a sex object even when she tries very hard to do so in films like `Fatal Attraction'. There's always this recognition that she's too smart-too intellectual-to truly give in fully and with abandon to carnal passion. And here, that lustiness is what is supposed to drive Valmont on to conquer Pfeiffer's Madame de Tourvel and eventually lead to his (and everyone else's) destruction. When he comes to claim his prize and is incensed to be rejected, you can't help but feel thankful that he won't be able to and you can't understand why he's so furious over it. The character of Marquse de Merteuil requires an actress who is both very hot and very smart. Unfortunately, Close isn't it. There aren't many actresses who truly present both. The way her character is represented in the original novel is that of an unbelievably beautiful sexy woman who uses her sex to manipulate men into getting what she wants. Her beauty and, more importantly, her sexuality and her freedom with it, is her greatest weapon. With Close in the role, it creates a vacuum because she simply doesn't project that. As odd as it would seem, the role calls for someone along the lines of Raquel Welch. As limited an actress as Ms. Welch is (or was) visually and suggestively, she's more in line with the source material than Ms. Close is. With someone like Welch, you could perfectly understand Valmont's feelings when he's rejected. What heterosexual man wouldn't want to get it on with someone like Raquel. Though a lesser version of the same material, the film `Valmont' has Annette Bening in the role of Merteuil and she's at least visually more appropriate for the role.
Stephen Frears direction is flawless. He knows just how to pace the movie throughout. It's brisk and fun in the beginning and engrossing and melancholy near the end. He stages Marteuil's humiliation at the opera perfectly and here Close is very fine as she recedes from her box trying to maintain a level of dignity and every so slightly stumbling on the way out.
The cast is excellent overall. Despite being rather odd looking, John Malkovich is perfect and you can clearly understand why he would be so taken with the lovely Michelle Pfeiffer whose sweet gentility hides an unbridled passion. There are plenty of men who use their style and will to compensate for their looks and manage to bed any number of fine women.
As for Glenn Close as the Marquise de Merteuil, she's perfect when she's being conniving and manipulative especially in the early scenes with Malkovich. The two have smary smart aleck behavior of school children who think they know better than everyone else. Their snobbery is both repellent and a joy to watch. The problem with Close's performance comes later when Valmont comes to claim his `reward' which is to have sex with Merteuil. Close has never presented well as a sex object even when she tries very hard to do so in films like `Fatal Attraction'. There's always this recognition that she's too smart-too intellectual-to truly give in fully and with abandon to carnal passion. And here, that lustiness is what is supposed to drive Valmont on to conquer Pfeiffer's Madame de Tourvel and eventually lead to his (and everyone else's) destruction. When he comes to claim his prize and is incensed to be rejected, you can't help but feel thankful that he won't be able to and you can't understand why he's so furious over it. The character of Marquse de Merteuil requires an actress who is both very hot and very smart. Unfortunately, Close isn't it. There aren't many actresses who truly present both. The way her character is represented in the original novel is that of an unbelievably beautiful sexy woman who uses her sex to manipulate men into getting what she wants. Her beauty and, more importantly, her sexuality and her freedom with it, is her greatest weapon. With Close in the role, it creates a vacuum because she simply doesn't project that. As odd as it would seem, the role calls for someone along the lines of Raquel Welch. As limited an actress as Ms. Welch is (or was) visually and suggestively, she's more in line with the source material than Ms. Close is. With someone like Welch, you could perfectly understand Valmont's feelings when he's rejected. What heterosexual man wouldn't want to get it on with someone like Raquel. Though a lesser version of the same material, the film `Valmont' has Annette Bening in the role of Merteuil and she's at least visually more appropriate for the role.
Stephen Frears direction is flawless. He knows just how to pace the movie throughout. It's brisk and fun in the beginning and engrossing and melancholy near the end. He stages Marteuil's humiliation at the opera perfectly and here Close is very fine as she recedes from her box trying to maintain a level of dignity and every so slightly stumbling on the way out.