Cruel Intentions (1999) Reviewed by Larry McGillicuddy 1999
Rating: ***1/2 (out of 4) Directed by Roger Kumble Starring Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Joshua Jackson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eric Mabius, Christine Baranski, Louise Fletcher, Swoosie Kurtz
"The movies are so rarely great art, that if we can't appreciate great trash, there is little reason for us to go" - Pauline Kael
I don't entirely agree with Ms. Kael's pessimistic view, but it is the proper frame of mind when viewing something like Roger Kumble's Cruel Intentions. The film is a modern day version of Dangerous Liasons with upper class high school kids filling in for the main characters. While it's certainly no great peice of cinema, it's enormously entertaining.
Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) are stepsiblings who control the masses at their high school with their seductive wickedness. One day Sebastian reads a magazine article by the school headmaster's daughter Annette (Reese Witherspoon) proclaiming how she is a virgin and plans to wait until marriage. Katherine bets him that he can't seduce her. If she wins, she gets his speedster. If he wins, he gets to have his way with her. Thus begins the sleazy games of sexual manipulation.
Kathryn tries to get revenge against a new student named Cecile, who stole her boyfriend away over summer break. She promises Cecile's momthat she will look after her goody two shoes daughter and keep her out of trouble. What she really does is attempt to turn her into a tramp and send incriminating evidence of it to her mother. Meanwhile, Sebastian begins to make his moves on Annette, but soon learns that she will not be a simple conquest. As played by Reese Witherspoon, she is more than resourceful and intelligent, and mere pick up lines or false gestures won't do the trick.
What I particularly liked was how the filmmakers didn't try to hide the film's trashy nature. Director Roger Kumble is a talented craftsman and he is smart enough not to underestimate his audience. Many films similar to Cruel Intentions have been made, but they were made without any real effort. The material here is executed so expertly it rises to a level of sophisticated sleaze.
Ryan Phillippe is a fine actor who brings the right amount of sexuality and vulnerability to his role. We must be able to beleive he could seduce all these women, and we also must buy the scenes in the 2nd half of the film where he begins to fall for Annette. Phillippe is able to pull both of these off perfectly. Even better is Reese Witherspoon, perhaps the most talented young actress working in Hollywood. She balances innocent charm with sensuality. Another actress could be annoying in this role, but Reese is perfect. She makes it beleivable that her character would fall under Sebastian's spell without allowing her character to look like a moron in the process. And Sarah Michelle Gellar has a great time playing the evil wicked queen of her school who tries defend her innocent reputation while manipulating the student body at the same time.
The technical credits are also superb. Special kudos to the art direction team for their view of the large, stylish homes in which these spoiled kids wage their battle of conquest. The films moves along at a brisk pace thanks to timely editing and a first-rate music score. I'm not sure I like the ending very much, but it works fine on it's own terms. I won't deny that the final shot is just perfect.
Larry McGillicuddy - The Cinemaniac More reviews at http://members.xoom.com/lmcgill/movpage.htm
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