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trailers.apple.com/trailers/.../dangerousliaisons/ - United States - Cached
1930s
Shanghai: the glamorous, tumultuous "Paris of the East" whose salons,
streets and bedrooms frame this Chinese adaptation of the French novel
Les ...
The Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close)
appears to be virtuous and upstanding but is, in fact, a sexually
ravenous, amoral schemer who plays games with men out of bitterness at
the constricted station of women in her society. She decides to exact
revenge on a recent lover by having his young new fiancée, Cécile de
Volanges (Uma Thurman), the daughter of Merteuil's cousin Madame de Volanges (Swoosie Kurtz), seduced and ruined. Merteuil calls on her sometime partner, the rakish and similarly amoral Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich), to do the deed. At first, Valmont refuses her proposition; he is busy trying to seduce the virtuous Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is spending time at his aunt's manor house while her husband is abroad.
Upon discovering that the uptight and superficial Madame de Volanges
had been secretly writing to Madame de Tourvel to warn her against his
evil nature, Valmont changes his mind and decides to follow Merteuil's
scheme. They take advantage of the fact that young Cécile is secretly in
love with her music teacher, the Chevalier Raphael Danceny (Keanu Reeves), who is poor and therefore does not qualify in the eyes of her mother as a potential suitor.
At his aunt's manor, Valmont tricks Cécile into providing access to
her bedchamber so that he can deliver Danceny's love letters unobserved,
but instead shows up and rapes her as she pleads with him to leave.
Over breakfast the next morning, he taunts a visibly distressed Cécile,
and she runs from the room in tears. Later that night, he attempts to
enter her room again, but she has barred her door and is seen sobbing
within her chamber. Madame de Volanges, distraught by her daughter's
sudden state of illness, calls upon Merteuil to speak to Cécile.
Merteuil advises Cécile to consensually continue an affair with Valmont,
telling her she should take advantage of all the lovers she can acquire
in a life so constricted by her gender. Cécile takes her advice and
later becomes pregnant with Valmont's child, but suffers a miscarriage,
thus avoiding a scandal.
Valmont meanwhile steadily targets his main prey, Madame de Tourvel,
who, despite suspecting his base motives, eventually gives in to his
tireless advances. However, Valmont, the lifelong womanizer, has
unexpectedly fallen in love with Tourvel.
Merteuil had promised Valmont a night in her company should he be
successful in his scheme to seduce Madame de Tourvel and provide written
proof of his conquest. Nevertheless, secretly jealous of Tourvel, she
refuses to grant Valmont his prize unless he breaks off with Tourvel
completely; Merteuil threatens to ruin his proud reputation as a
debaucher. Valmont, his ego damaged, heeds her request and coldly leaves
Tourvel, who falls desperately ill. Valmont goes back to Merteuil, who
in the meantime has taken Chevalier Danceny as her lover. Valmont
arranges for Danceny to leave Merteuil for Cecile, which leads to him
once again demanding the immediate fulfillment of her promise. The
Marquise refuses, and they declare war.
The Marquise reveals to Danceny that Valmont had seduced Cécile.
Danceny challenges Valmont to a duel. Guilty and despairing, Valmont
allows Danceny to fatally wound him. Before he dies, he asks Danceny to
visit Tourvel and assure her of his true love; Valmont also hands him a
collection of letters from Merteuil that detail her scheming. After
hearing Valmont's message from Danceny, Madame de Tourvel dies. Danceny
publishes Merteuil's letters, which become a scandal, and she is booed
and disgraced by the audience at the opera. The movie closes as she
suffers a breakdown while removing her make-up.
Cast
Glenn Close as Marquise de Merteuil:
a member of the French nobility, the Marquise has been forced to comply
with the social rules of her gender at that time. Strong-willed and
ambitious, she has grown spiteful from consistently being forced to
"keep quiet and do as told" by the male gender, and so she has made it
her business to do whatever she could to dominate the male gender, and
avenge her own.
She is portrayed as a cunning, manipulative
and immoral woman, who uses her beauty and extraordinary intelligence
to both maintain her position on the French social hierarchy, but also
to avenge herself on anyone who has wronged her in the past. Her
malevolent, libertine nature, however, is kept well hidden from most
people, as she created a façade of moral righteousness which makes her
look as a virtuous and puritan woman to almost everyone in her
entourage.
John Malkovich as Vicomte de Valmont:
an arrogant, suave and extremely manipulative sexual predator, the
Vicomte takes advantage of the social limitations of the female gender
at the time to benefit himself as much as possible. Cynical, compelling,
charismatic and powerful, the Vicomte uses his position to get anything
(or anyone) he wants. As he begins genuinely to fall in love with
Madame de Tourvel, a softer, more caring side of him is revealed.
However, the Marquise de Merteuil's tight grip over him causes him to
abandon that small inkling of morality and betray the one woman he
loved, eventually leading to his demise.
Dangerous Liaisons holds a score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes,[8] and a score of 74 on Metacritic,[9] indicating a positive critical reception. Pauline Kael in The New Yorker described it as "heaven – alive in a way that movies rarely are."[9] Hal Hinson in the Washington Post
wrote that the film's "wit and immediacy is extraordinarily rare in a
period film. Instead of making the action seem far off, the filmmakers
put the audience in the room with their characters."[10]Roger Ebert called it "an absorbing and seductive movie."[11]Variety considered it an "incisive study of sex as an arena for manipulative power games."[12]Vincent Canby in The New York Times hailed it as a "kind of lethal drawing-room comedy."[13] Christopher Hampton received critical acclaim for his screenplay, with Time Out
writing that "one of the film's enormous strengths is scriptwriter
Christopher Hampton's decision to go back to the novel, and save only
the best from his play."[14]James Acheson and Stuart Craig were also praised for their work, with Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times stating that "the film's details of costuming (by The Last Emperor's James Acheson) and production design (by Stuart Craig of Gandhi and The Mission) are ravishing."[9] All three would go on to win Academy Awards for their work on this film. Glenn Close received considerable praise for her performance; she was lauded by The New York Times for her "richness and comic delicacy,"[13] while Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that, once she "finally lets loose and gives way to complete animal despair, Close is horrifying."[9]Roger Ebert
thought the two lead roles were "played to perfection by Close and
Malkovich... their arch dialogues together turn into exhausting
conversational games, tennis matches of the soul."[11] Michelle Pfeiffer was also widely acclaimed for her portrayal, despite playing, in the opinion of the Washington Post,
"the least obvious and the most difficult" role. "Nothing is harder to
play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she
embodies it."[10] The New York Times called her performance a "happy surprise."[13] Roger Ebert, considering the trajectory of her career, wrote that "in a year that has seen her in varied assignments such as Married to the Mob and Tequila Sunrise, the movie is more evidence of her versatility. She is good when she is innocent and superb when she is guilty."[11] Pfeiffer would later win a British Academy Film Award for her performance.
The casting of John Malkovich proved to be a controversial decision that divided critics. The New York Times,
while admitting there was the "shock of seeing him in powdered wigs",
concluded that he was "unexpectedly fine. The intelligence and strength
of the actor shape the audience's response to him."[13] The Washington Post
was similarly impressed with Malkovich's performance: "There's a
sublime perversity in Frears' casting, especially that of Malkovich...
[he] brings a fascinating dimension to his character that would be
missing with a more conventionally handsome leading man."[10]Variety
was less impressed, stating that while the "sly actor conveys the
character's snaky, premeditated Don Juanism... he lacks the devilish
charm and seductiveness one senses Valmont would need to carry off all
his conquests."[12]
Les Liaisons dangereuses (French pronunciation: [le ljɛ.zɔ̃ dɑ̃.ʒə.ʁøz]; The Dangerous Liaisons) is a French epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782.
It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two rivals (and ex-lovers) who use sex
as a weapon to humiliate and degrade others, all the while enjoying
their cruel games. It has been claimed to depict the decadence of the
French aristocracy shortly before the French Revolution, thereby exposing the perversions of the so-called Ancien Régime. However, it has also been described as a vague, amoral story.
As an epistolary novel, the book is composed entirely of letters
written by the various characters to each other. In particular, the
letters between Valmont and the Marquise drive the plot, with those of
other characters serving as illustrations to give the story its depth.
It is often claimed to be the source of the saying "Revenge is a dish best served cold", a paraphrased translation of "La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid"
(more literally, "Revenge is a dish that is eaten cold"). However the
expression does not actually occur in the original novel in any form.
The Vicomte de Valmont is determined to seduce the virtuous (and
married) Madame de Tourvel, who is living with Valmont's aunt while
Monsieur de Tourvel, a magistrate, is away on a court case. At the same
time, the Marquise de Merteuil is determined to corrupt the young Cécile
de Volanges, whose mother has only recently brought her out of a
convent to be married – to Merteuil's recent lover, who has become bored
with her and discarded her. Cécile falls in love with the Chevalier
Danceny (her music tutor) and Merteuil and Valmont pretend to want to
help the secret lovers in order to gain their trust, so that they can
use them later in their own schemes.
Merteuil suggests that the Vicomte seduce Cécile in order to exact
her revenge on Cécile's future husband. Valmont refuses, finding the
task too easy, and preferring to devote himself to seducing Madame de
Tourvel. Merteuil promises Valmont that if he seduces Madame de Tourvel
and provides her with written proof, she will spend the night with him.
He expects rapid success, but does not find it as easy as his many other
conquests. During the course of his pursuit, he discovers that Cécile's
mother has written to Madame de Tourvel about his bad reputation. He
avenges himself in seducing Cécile as Merteuil had suggested. In the
meantime, Merteuil takes Danceny as a lover.
By the time Valmont has succeeded in seducing Madame de Tourvel, it
is suggested that he might have fallen in love with her. Jealous,
Merteuil tricks him into deserting Madame de Tourvel – and reneges on
her promise of spending the night with him. In response Valmont reveals
that he prompted Danceny to reunite with Cécile, leaving Merteuil
abandoned yet again. Merteuil declares war on Valmont, and in revenge
she reveals to Danceny that Valmont has seduced Cécile. Danceny and
Valmont duel, and Valmont is fatally wounded. Before he dies he is
reconciled with Danceny, giving him the letters proving Merteuil's own
involvement. These letters are sufficient to ruin her reputation and she
flees to the countryside, where she contracts smallpox.
Her face is left permanently scarred and she is rendered blind in one
eye, so she loses her greatest asset: her beauty. But the innocent also
suffer from the protagonist's schemes: hearing of Valmont's death,
Madame de Tourvel succumbs to a fever and dies, while Cécile returns to
the convent.
Illustration by Fragonard for Letter XLIV, 1796.
Literary significance and criticism
Les Liaisons dangereuses is celebrated for its exploration of seduction, revenge, and human malice,
presented in the form of fictional letters collected and published by a
fictional author. The book was viewed as scandalous at the time of its
initial publication, though the real intentions of the author remain
unknown. It has been suggested that Laclos's intention was the same as
that of his fictional author in the novel; to write a morality tale about the corrupt, squalid nobility of the Ancien Régime.
However, this theory has been questioned on several grounds. In the
first place, Laclos enjoyed the patronage of France's most senior aristocrat
– the duc d'Orléans. Secondly, all the characters in the story are
aristocrats, including the virtuous heroines – Madame de Tourvel and
Madame de Rosemonde. Finally, many ultra-royalist and conservative
figures enjoyed the book, including Queen Marie-Antoinette, which suggests that – despite its scandalous reputation – it was not viewed as a political work until the events of the French Revolution years later made it appear as such, with the benefit of hindsight.
Wayland Young notes that most critics have viewed the work as
... a sort of celebration, or at least a neutral statement, of libertinism... pernicious and damnable... Almost everyone who has written about it has noted how perfunctory are the wages of sin..."[1]
He argues, however, that
... the mere analysis of libertinism… carried out by a novelist with
such a prodigious command of his medium... was enough to condemn it and
play a large part in its destruction.[1]
In a well known essay on Les Liaisons dangereuses, which has often been used as a preface to French editions of the novel, André Malraux argues that, despite its debt to the libertine tradition, Les Liaisons dangereuses
is more significant as the introduction of a new kind of character in
French fiction. The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont,
Malraux writes, are creations ‘without precedent’. They are ‘the first
[in European literature] whose acts are determined by an ideology'.[2]
In a manner, Les Liaisons dangereuses is a literary counterthesis to the epistolary novel as executed with Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded.
Whereas Richardson uses the technique of letters to provide the reader
with a feeling of knowing the protagonist's true and intimate thoughts,
Laclos' use of this literary device is exactly opposite: by presenting
the reader with grossly conflicting views from the same writer when
addressing different recipients, it is left to the reader to reconcile
story, intentions and characters behind the letters. The use of
duplicitous characters with one virtuous face can be viewed as a complex
criticism of the immensively popular naive moral epistolary novel.
Adaptations
The novel has been adapted into various media, under many different names.
Stage
German playwright Heiner Müller adapted the story in 1981, entitling it Quartet.
An eight-part adaptation of the novel was broadcast as BBC Radio 4's "Woman's Hour Drama" (20–30 July 1992). It starred Juliet Stevenson, Samuel West, Melinda Walker, Diana Rigg, and Roger Allam.
A two-part presentation of Christopher Hampton's play by BBC World Service in 1998. It starred Ciarán Hinds (Vicomte de Valmont), Lindsay Duncan (Marquise de Merteuil), and Emma Fielding (Mme. de Tourvel). It won the Grand Award for Best Entertainment Program at the New York Radio Festival.
Piet Swerts: Les Liaisons dangereuses. 17.12.1996.Gent (Wordpremiere) .Marilyn Schmiege (soprano).Francois Le Roux (bar). Lyne Fortin
(sopr). Jocelyne Taillon (mezzo).Mireille Capelle (mezzo).Marie-Noelle
de Callatay (sopr). Cecile de Volanges.Marc Tucker (ten) Romain
Bisschoff (bar). Petra van Tendeloo (sopr). Piet Vansichen (bajo). Dir.:
Patrick Davin
Ballet
David Nixon, currently Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre
in Leeds, choreographed a ballet version of Dangerous Laisons, with
music by Vivaldi. It was first performed as part of a mixed program
entitled "David Nixon’s Liaisons" - at the Hebbel Theatre, Berlin in
1990. He subsequently reworked it for BalletMet, with the premier taking
place in the Ohio Theatre on May 2, 1996.
In 2008, the Alberta Ballet performed a ballet version of Dangerous Liaisons.[6]
Sequel
A Factory of Cunning (2005) a fictionalized sequel by
Philippa Stockley, tells how the Marquise de Merteuil faked her death of
smallpox and escaped to England with a new identity.
References
French Wikisource has original text related to this article:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Young, Wayland (1964). Eros Denied: Sex in Western Society. New York: Grove. ISBN1-125-40416-7.
Diaconoff, Suellen (1979). Eros and power in Les Liaisons dangereuses: a study in evil. Geneva: Droz.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
