"Cruel Intentions" is something a sadistic look at other people through the eyes of two spoiled university brats. They view others as mere objects that are insignificant unless they are of some use or entertainment. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Kathryn Merteuil, her university's class president. She conveys a public image of sunshine and roses but behind closed doors carries out actions not better than a sociopathic slut. Her step-brother, Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) is of equal footing, living the life of a playboy whose ambitions favor the seduction of innocent young girls.
The brother and sister soon engage in a bet involving the deflowering of a puritanical coed. If Sebastian wins, Kathryn is his to do anything he wants with. Yes, this means some pretty perversely incestual acts. If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian's vintage Jaguar. The kicker to what would seem an otherwise easy accomplishment for Sebastian is that the girl he has in his targets, Annette Hargrove (played by Reese Witherspoon), is anything but stupid and is keen of Sebastian's reputation and his advances.
*SPOILER* A bit of the plot gets lost in Kathryn revenge against a boyfriend that dumped her. She justifies going after his girlfriend so that her actions cannot be traced back. This makes sense except for the fact that it would appear that little harm if any would have made to the boyfriend.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is about as seductive and sexual as you can imagine in the film without actually taking her clothes off. Reese Witherspoon does great at being a good-natured person with a brain actually fixed to her beautiful body. Perhaps the carried weight of the whole film rests on Ryan Phillippe's performance and how love transforms him. But in redemption of some of the film's wandering and weak plot points, the ending comes along as a wonderful tsunami of sweet justice. *SPOILER* Sebastian turned over his most prized possession to Annette to show her the truth of who he is. In a beautifully portrayed ending like that of "Real Genius" (soundtrack playing in the background and the film's characters moving in slow motion), Kathryn storms out of the school's main hall and discovers every dark secret in her brother's journal has been published for all to see. 6/10
The brother and sister soon engage in a bet involving the deflowering of a puritanical coed. If Sebastian wins, Kathryn is his to do anything he wants with. Yes, this means some pretty perversely incestual acts. If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian's vintage Jaguar. The kicker to what would seem an otherwise easy accomplishment for Sebastian is that the girl he has in his targets, Annette Hargrove (played by Reese Witherspoon), is anything but stupid and is keen of Sebastian's reputation and his advances.
*SPOILER* A bit of the plot gets lost in Kathryn revenge against a boyfriend that dumped her. She justifies going after his girlfriend so that her actions cannot be traced back. This makes sense except for the fact that it would appear that little harm if any would have made to the boyfriend.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is about as seductive and sexual as you can imagine in the film without actually taking her clothes off. Reese Witherspoon does great at being a good-natured person with a brain actually fixed to her beautiful body. Perhaps the carried weight of the whole film rests on Ryan Phillippe's performance and how love transforms him. But in redemption of some of the film's wandering and weak plot points, the ending comes along as a wonderful tsunami of sweet justice. *SPOILER* Sebastian turned over his most prized possession to Annette to show her the truth of who he is. In a beautifully portrayed ending like that of "Real Genius" (soundtrack playing in the background and the film's characters moving in slow motion), Kathryn storms out of the school's main hall and discovers every dark secret in her brother's journal has been published for all to see. 6/10