TonyMontana96
Review: This popular, alleged classic is a bad movie that a lot of people liked, now I say this because I just sat through 2 hours of attempted rape, arguing and unbelievable romance. The one and only thing that deserves respect here outside the look of the picture are the performances, Malkovich, Close and Pfeiffer especially, they know there character's and do try their very best to try and make the picture seem better, but it's all smoke and mirrors, the horrible script sucker's any chance of the film being watchable. Now I know it won three Oscars but this means nothing, Titanic won about ten, and that was a standard, baited romance, beating superb films like Good will Hunting and L.A Confidential, which proves how pathetic the academy really are. Malkovich play's a sex offender, Close play's an evil whore, Pfeiffer play's an innocent sex target, I don't know who wrote these characters but they are either repulsive, unlikeable or tragic.The film starts off well with an open setup, but as soon as the attempted rape kicks in, the film is an absolute catastrophe, one scene involves good old fashioned dishonesty, where Malkovich's character comes up with a ploy to read these terrible letters about himself, that drag his name through the mud, his plan is too bust in on his assistant while he's with a woman, and tell her he won't tell on her, along as she does something for him. Her reaction, she lies on her back naked ready to be mounted, are you kidding me, so she was ready to be raped in other words, which is disgusting, he never actually has sex with her, but for a moment the film instantly implies women will keep their secrets by sleeping with men, now I don't mind a bit of humour towards women or men, sexism in the right context, can be mildly amusing, but rape has never been funny and never will, Dangerous Liaisons is like a commercial for rapists, they have a step by step guide to commit there heinous act.Other despicable moments include an innocent Uma Thurman, who plays a young, confused girl with a wicked mother who constantly tries to marry her off to men she has no interest in, half way through the picture it shows she has a secret lover played by Keanu Reeves, now she is forbidden to be with him as he is not rich, and does not come from a privileged family, so Malkovich decides to help her for his own sick gain, he gives her the key to her bedroom that allows her to be with Reeves without anyone busting in, whilst keeping the key in a safe place. One night Malkovich decides he's going to open her door with that key only he has access to and feel her up while she's asleep, she wakes, confused, and Malkovich tells her that she must do something for him, so in basic terms, he rapes her, and what I saw didn't look consensual, she tried to fight him off, and he later tries to do it again, only she has barricaded the door, so director Stephen Frears has made a film about rape, and it's not the same as romance, this film is utterly repulsive and even tries to make jokes about it's horrible subject, and not once did I laugh, it was disgusting and fairly offensive.The only positives aside from the actual acting, are the appropriate costume designs and the right setting, which shows the exact setting of the 17th century, but despite the correct look, the film's story and writing are dreadful, with plenty of awful, meaningless dialogue, unnecessary situations and a story that is nothing more than one of debauchery and rape. Keanu Reeves cannot do an English accent, which I had already learned from Coppola's Dracula, which I saw long before this and Uma Thurman and Reeves may have some good scenes together but there romance isn't very strong, and there performances are only passable. As for the alleged romance between Malkovich's character and Pfeiffer, it's a trainwreck, the writers may have saw love, but I saw a woman trying to fight off a stalker and an attacker, not for one minute did it seem or feel that she loved him, and that is another reason why I detested this film. It has dreadful romance, detestable characters and a wretched story. Overall Dangerous Liaisons is a disgusting piece of tripe that uses an A-star cast to showcase rape, sexual harassment and unwilling romance.
Armand
the sadness is the nimbus who defines the story. the special flavor for a perfect watch because the costumes, the atmosphere, the acting are splendid. but the sadness - who, in the last part, becomes so powerful, represents the basic ingredient of its special beauty. because the brilliant acting gives to it more than an adaptation status. it is something fascinating in Glenn Close/Malkovich acting who gives to story new nuances, more force. all seems be perfect. and the admirable science to create the victims has the high value of an impeccable job. each scene is a gem. the dialogs are like sword shinning. the solidarity with the evil characters is build, with precise art, step by step, in admirable manner. a film who must see it. not exactly for story. but for its splendid game of shadows and soft light.
Sergeant_Tibbs
I've wanted to see Dangerous Liaisons for a while as I like Stephen Frears a lot, even if just for my sentimental favourite High Fidelity. Even though he hasn't made a top film (Fidelity is close, I'm not a fan of how Rob gets back with Laura for the third act and it holds it back), I've always admired his versatility. Based on some pretty acclaimed material, Liaisons also boasts acclaimed production design and performances from Glenn Close and John Malkovich. While the dialogue is very lyrical, I did find it quite difficult to follow and character connections particularly confused me (it's easy to follow that Malkovich was sleeping with lots of ladies but the objectives were hazy), but once clear exposition unfolded, it was a very interesting look on gender power struggles. The acting deserves every ounce of acclaim, John Malkovich is great but Glenn Close is truly amazing. It's easy to imagine her character on stage and she brings that theatrical acting into it, but there's lots of subtle complexity in her expressions. I'm not sure if it's just my admittedly cheap DVD, but it wasn't the visual splendour I was hoping for, especially considering its Oscars. it felt more like a period drama from the BBC. Perhaps it deserves Blu-Ray. As interesting as it was, my inability to follow it does hold it back a notch, maybe I'll like it more on rewatches. High definition rewatches.7/10
