Cruel Intentions Essay, Research Paper
There were a lot of good movies to choose from. I thought long and hard on which movie to choose. Finally, I chose Cruel Intentions. I rented this movie when it first came out on videotape and I really enjoyed watching it. I guess I liked it because it was taken place in my time and my generation. Cruel Intentions is one of many movies made based on the novel ?Les Liaisons Dangereuses? by Pierre Laclos.
The movie stars Sarah Michelle Gellar who plays Kathryn Merteuil. Ryan Phillipe who plays Sebastian Valmont. Resse Witherspoon who plays Annette Hargrove. The final main character is Selma Blair who plays Cecile Caldwell. The minor characters are Joshua Jackson who plays Blaine Tuttle. Sean Patrick Thomas who plays Ronald Clifford. Christine Baranski who plays Mrs. Caldwell, Cecile?s mom. Those are the characters that have some kind of impact on the movie.
The director of the movie was Roger Kumble. Roger Kumble had always been a fan of the original novel and had closely observed its previous incarnations on stage and screen. Kumble had said that he always thought that the novel was timeless and could be remade for a younger audience. Kumble also said that high school kids act the same way as the characters in the novel, so he wanted to make a high school version of the novel.
The novel was ?Les Liaisons Dangereuses?, written by Pierre Laclos. The novel was published in 1782. The novel was not historical fact, therefore neither is the movie. It is based on romance; love, lust, and the desire for conquer. The novel was the inspiration for plays and movies, especially this movie, Cruel Intentions.
Cruel Intentions is about two people who make a bet. Sebastian and his stepsister Kathryn. The bet was if Sebastian could deflower the virgin Annette before the school year begins. If he fails to accomplish this task, Kathryn gets his Jaguar Roadster and if he succeeds then Sebastian gets Kathryn. During this bet, Kathryn wants Sebastian to deflower another girl for her. During the summer Kathryn was dumped by her boyfriend for Cecile. So since Sebastian really wants Kathryn, he does what she asked. Sebastian still had his mind set on Annette. He believes that she will be his greatest conquer yet. During this bet, Sebastian finds himself falling in love with Annette. He had already deflowered Annette, but didn?t want to receive his reward from Kathryn. Kathryn got upset and told Cecile?s new boyfriend, Ronald, that Sebastian slept with Cecile. Ronald went searching for Sebastian, looking for a fight. Ronald finds him and a fight pursued in the street. Sebastian is hit by a car by accident and dies. During this time, Sebastian was keeping a diary, which he leaves for Annette. Annette read it and then made many copies. She handed out the copies to the entire school. Kathryn?s life was ruined and she got caught with drugs on her. The movie was a depressing movie, but at least everything was made right.
The movie was basically about lust and love. It started as a game, but love got in the way. Sebastian never loved before and didn?t know how to handle it. Cruel Intentions was based on my generation. The characters were high school students. The school was a rich school in New York. Crue
Even though the movie takes place in New York, Kumble wanted to give it a French feeling. The walls of the Valmont townhouse were decorated with paintings and art. It was meant to feel like a period piece, but also with a contemporary feeling. The rooms of the house were designed with a French flair. Kumble wanted to make the audience get a little feeling of history and Europe, so the crew went around New York and filmed buildings that gave off the vibe. All the little things that were done in the filming of this movie helped to make this movie a hit. The paintings, art, and buildings helped the audience realize that this is based on a novel published in 1782.
During our studies of Romanticism, we studied lots of art and paintings. Some of which were in this film. Some of the paintings we learned about showed love and lust. Love and lust were very important themes of this movie. During class we saw a short clip of the movie Dangerous Liaisons. Cruel Intentions is a newer version of that movie. If you look hard enough, you can actually see some of the paintings, sculptures, and works of art in the movie and realize that you have seen them before. We have seen them in our studies of romanticism.
This film is important because it shows two young people who care more about lust then love. By the time love was realized, it was too late. Love is more superior then any feeling and should not be taken lightly. A student in our class should view this film because it shows how important love is. Love can cause a person to change his or her whole lifestyle and his or her way of thinking. Back when the novel was written, love was an important aspect of life. Cruel Intentions just gives the version that we can understand. The movie shows what is right and wrong with love. Not everyone has the knowledge of what love really is. Once again, the paintings, sculptures, and works of art did not have a major impact on the movie, but it is the little things that helped the movie.
I have now seen this movie for the third time. I think the movie was well directed and well acted. The director could not find better actors to play the parts. I really enjoyed this movie, not because of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon, but because I could relate a little bit to the movie. It also didn?t hurt that they were in the movie. Watching people act like them made the movie entertaining, because I seen stuff like this everyday. Just knowing that this could be happening to someone right now makes the movie more interesting. I was rooting for Sebastian, so I was depressed when he died. This movie was an excellent movie and I definitely recommend this movie to anyone who hasn?t already seen it. Anyone who has loved before should definitely watch this. Not everyone gets a chance at true love, but if you do, you should grab on to it and never let it go. You might not get a second chance, like Sebastian.