Dangerous Liaisons

In "Fatal Attraction"

Pfeiffer reveals an emotional nakedness that's almost shocking. Never has she exposed so much and done it so simply. Who knew she could be this good? more

A delectably naughty experience. This sort of wit and immediacy is extraordinarily rare in a period film. more

Pfeiffer is a revelation in her part, almost stealing the film. Her relative stillness, masking internal unrest, makes her character seem more authentically "period" than her co-stars, who have adopted no formal period mannerisms. more

The film seems a bit studied, but the creepy plot still holds a certain fascination. more

If there is anything lacking in the movie, it may be a certain gusto. The director, Stephen Frears, is so happy to make this a tragicomedy of manners that he sometimes turns away from obvious payoffs. more

Malkovich's lead performance digs in its heels, deadening the movie's speedy exhilaration. The result is a highly diverting but ultimately unsatisfying production that doesn't perform -- so much as paraphrase -- the script. more

No matter how many times the script instructs us that Valmont is "conspicuously charming," Malkovich is not charming, conspicuously or otherwise. more

The real problem is Malkovich's Valmont. This sly actor conveys the character's snaky, premeditated Don Juanism. But he lacks the devilish charm and seductiveness one senses Valmont would need to carry off all his conquests. more

This is basically Elizabeth, if Elizabeth were an old slutty manipulatress. I know it's a good movie and technically impressive and all that shit that bodice-rippers always are, but these films always deal with the exact same themes. "lol the hidden strength of a woman" "lol the heart plays by no rules" "lol even the most dignified man is still a beast" Come on, now. Mix things up a little bit. The highlight of the film remains John Malkovich, a chilling sociopath who's out to ruin as many lives as possible just for personal challenge. His performance is a study in how to properly exude... more

Seeing "Cruel Intentions" first kinda took the bloom off the rose for this film. Not that I love the prior or anything, I just knew what was going to happen and while Close and Malkovich are awesome, I'm just not die-hard fans of theirs. more

it's SO wickedly amaazing. i was like rolling with desire for john malkovich, and i generally think he's a creepy man. michelle pfeiffer is beauutiful. unfortunately i think i would have enjoyed this movie more had i not seen the vastly inferior cruel intentions first. more

Dangerous Liaisons dragged on for quite a while - they always seemed to be doing the same things and the stakes were never raised or anything. I liked Glenn Close - her reactions to people when they weren't looking were priceless. It wouldn't be my favourite character she's played, though. The costumes were really great most of the time. But 18th Century French aristocratic life can be so boring, and as such, there wasn't anything captivating about this film other than what I've mentioned. Oh, and by the way - Cruel Intentions was basically this entire movie, but set in modern times,... more

Just saw this again for the umpteenth time.This is on my Favorites List. There are a few versions including one with Annette Benning & Uma Thurman, & then it also inspired Cruel Intentions, the Modern Day Version.I love All Versions, but I think the Delicious & Diabolical portrayal by Glenn Close & her equally matched John Malkovich might be the best, but then I'm Fickle.What these deprived Aristiocrat's could do with a Sinister Wager , A Bit of Boredom, & Sex could really Spin a Tale of Decadence & Cruelty for the Ages.Pair that with Period costumes To Die For with Performances that you... more

At first glance, DANGEROUS LIAISONS appears to be an extravagant eighteenth-century period-piece, which it is; the powdered wigs and overflowing corsets typical of the genre are all here, and the cinematography is appropriately glossy. But boiling beneath the elegant surface are the deviously twisted sensibilities of two monstrous characters--the Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich), a pair of schemers (and former lovers) who take pleasure in coolly manipulating and seducing those around them. The Marquise challenges the Vicomte to seduce the... more