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Dangerous Liaisons
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Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman. It is based upon a play by Christopher Hampton which in turn is based on the classic eighteenth-century novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It is the first film adaptation in English of the novel, although the very next year it was adapted by Miloš Forman as Valmont.
Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) calls on her partner, the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich), to seduce the young daughter of her cousin, Madame de Volanges (Swoosie Kurtz), thus having revenge on a former lover, the man to whom young Cécile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) is promised in marriage.
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Encyclopedia
Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman. It is based upon a play by Christopher Hampton which in turn is based on the classic eighteenth-century novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It is the first film adaptation in English of the novel, although the very next year it was adapted by Miloš Forman as Valmont.
Plot
The Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) calls on her partner, the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich), to seduce the young daughter of her cousin, Madame de Volanges (Swoosie Kurtz), thus having revenge on a former lover, the man to whom young Cécile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) is promised in marriage. At first, Valmont refuses her proposition: he wants to seduce the prudish Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is spending time at his aunt's house while her husband is abroad.
Upon discovering that 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 in love with her music teacher, the Chevalier Danceny (Keanu Reeves), who does not qualify in the eyes of her mother as a potential suitor.
At his aunt's, Valmont easily seduces Cécile. She later becomes pregnant with Valmont's child, but suffers a miscarriage, avoiding a scandal. Valmont meanwhile steadily targets his main prey, Madame de Tourvel, who, though realizing that she has become his prey, eventually gives in to his tireless advances.
But unknown to Valmont, the womanizer his entire life, and much against the course of events, the magic of love casts a spell on Valmont. The devoted love of Tourvel shakes him to his roots. But it was too late for him to stop himself and others fall into dark vortex of the evil plans he and Merteuil had cooked up.
Merteuil had promised the Vicomte a night in her company should he be successful. Nevertheless, she refuses to grant him his prize unless he breaks off with Tourvel completely, threatening to spoil his reputation as a debaucher. Valmont heeds to her request and leaves Tourvel, who at this falls fatally ill.
Valmont goes back to Merteuil, who in the meantime has taken Chevalier Danceny as her lover, and demands the immediate fulfillment of her promise. The Marquise refuses, and they declare war.
The Marquise reveals to Danceny that Valmont had seduced Cécile. Danceny and Valmont duel and, lovesick and disinterested, Valmont allows Danceny to fatally wound him. Before he dies, he asks Danceny to visit Tourvel and assure her of his love, and hands him a collection of letters from Merteuil.
After hearing Valmont's message from Danceny, Madame de Tourvel dies. Danceny publishes Merteuil's letters, and she is booed and disgraced by the audience at the opera.
The film and play alter the novel's original ending, in which Merteuil's face is permanently disfigured due to illness.
Cast
Production
Dangerous Liaisons was Frears' eighth feature film, and his first working with American studios. With seven Academy Award nominations, it was a very successful Hollywood debut.
The film features widely acclaimed performances by Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer in the roles of the three major characters from Laclos' novel, the Marquise de Merteuil, the Vicomte de Valmont and Madame de Tourvel, respectively; Keanu Reeves, Uma Thurman and Swoosie Kurtz also appear in supporting roles.
The movie was shot entirely on location in historical buildings of the French regions of Île-de-France and Picardie such as, among others, the famous Château de Vincennes. It was co-produced by Christopher Hampton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his adaptation of Laclos' novel for the stage.
The original score was written by George Fenton. The soundtrack also included masterpieces of baroque and classical music, most notably works from Vivaldi, Bach, Handel and Gluck.
The original English-language film, which has characters speaking American English, strives for an authentic French sensibility: conversations are hushed, almost whispered, in an effort to evoke the grace and reserve of eighteenth-century nobility.
Adapting the novel
Les Liaisons dangereuses is an epistolary novel, i.e., a novel that is entirely composed of letters. Through the messages sent by its characters, the reader is informed not only of events and situations, but also of what Valmont and Merteuil portray as their innermost thoughts and wishes. This poses problems for stage or screen adaptation, since a large portion of the original material consists not of straightforward action, but of characters of unknown sincerity describing their thoughts and actions.
Hampton's play and screenplay follow the plot of the novel very closely, and are generally considered prime adaptations of Laclos' work. One remarkable difference lies in the fact that the film internalises and perhaps somewhat softens the final fate of the Marquise de Merteuil. In the book, she contracts a very painful disease and loses one eye after her letters to Valmont have been published. In the movie, she is ostracized by her peers at the opera, but her ultimate destiny is left undetermined. Her downfall becomes less physical and more mental and emotional.
It has been argued that the dynamics required by stage and film action have rendered the villains less capable of drawing the sympathy of the audience, since their inner motivations are not as clearly depicted as they are in their letters. Although still a very cruel person in the book, Valmont, for instance, is supposed to show a rather more violent nature in the movie.
Awards
Dangerous Liaisons was nominated in 1989 for seven Academy Awards, winning three.
Awards
Nominations:
At the time, the fact that neither Frears nor Malkovich were nominated led to a few critical remarks in specialized magazines, particularly in the case of the latter.
The film won two out of ten BAFTA Awards nominations, for Pfeiffer and Hampton. The writer was also awarded by the London Critics Circle and the Writers Guild of America, East. Philippe Rousselot's cinematography was nominated by the American and by the British Society of Cinematographers, losing both awards.
Cultural references
On the TV show Friends, Rachel Green claims Dangerous Liaisons is her favorite movie, though her actual favorite movie is later revealed to be Weekend at Bernie's.
The TV show The West Wing featured music from the soundtrack of Dangerous Liaisons during the episode "The Supremes" as a reference to guest star Glenn Close (playing the President's nominee as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court).
Adaptations and remake
- Just one year after Dangerous Liaisons, Miloš Forman's version of Laclos' novel was also released. Valmont had a screenplay by French writer and critic Jean-Claude Carrière and starred Annette Bening and Colin Firth in the leading roles.
- Conrad Susa wrote an opera in 1994 (revised in 1996-97) entitled The Dangerous Liaisons, set in 18th century France.
- In 1999, Roger Kumble directed an adaptation of the novel set in modern day New York. Released under the title Cruel Intentions, it had Sarah Michelle Gellar star as Kathryn Merteuil and Ryan Phillippe assume the role of Sebastian Valmont, with supporting roles from Reese Witherspoon as Annette Hargrove and Selma Blair as Cecile Caldwell. Swoosie Kurtz, who played Madame de Volanges in Frears' movie, had a cameo in this version.
- A French adaptation, Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959) was directed by Roger Vadim. This version stars Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Philipe, and Annette Vadim, and updates the story to a late-1950s French bourgeois milieu.
- In 2003, Lee Je Yong directed a Korean adaptation, Untold Scandal (??? - ???????? Seuchaendeul - Joseonnamnyeosang'yeoljisa). This version stars Mi-suk Lee, Do-yeon Jeon, and Yong-jun Bae, and transposes the novel to eighteenth-century Joseon Dynasty Korea.
- A ballet version was commissioned from Jean Grand-Maître by the Norwegian National Ballet in 2000. It was performed in 2004 and 2008 by The Alberta Ballet.
- In 1990, British comedy duo, French & Saunders parodied the film, in an episode of their eponymous television programme. In the episodes, it features two gossip-mongers talking about the various debaucheries committed by Comtes and Comtesses, and feature over-large fans, which match their dresses (and the drapes).
- In 2008 John Malkovich appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch about himself starring in a Broadway remake of Dangerous Liaisons performed entirely in a hot tub, expressing frustration that he's working with bad actors because his co-stars from the film declined to participate.
Trivia
- Christopher Hampton and Glenn Close re-teamed for the 1993 Los Angeles (& American) premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard (musical). Hampton co-wrote the lyrics & book, with Close starring as faded star Norma Desmond. The show (after contract & casting complications in London) transfered from Los Angeles to the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway in 1994. The show won 8 Tony Awards in 1995 (with virtually no other competition), which including Hampton taking home the prize for Best Score & Best Book, with Close winning Best Actress.
- Director Frears, screenwriter Hampton, and actors Malkovich and Close all re-teamed again for another costume drama Mary Reilly (film) (1996), starring Julia Roberts in the title role, but the film didn't do well.
External links
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