Dangerous Liaisons: More Than Just Frilly Wigs and Cruelty

Okay, so watched Dangerous Liaisons again last night. I've seen it a few times over the years, and it still really gets under my skin. The sheer calculating nature of Merteuil and Valmont is just mesmerizing. Glenn Close is phenomenal, obviously. That scene where she's practically weeping talking about her virtue, but you know it's all an act? Chilling. Malkovich, I think, is perfectly cast too. He brings this almost bored cynicism to Valmont that makes him both repulsive and weirdly compelling. He's not some cartoon villain, he's just...empty, trying to fill the void with conquest. What really struck me this time around was the tragedy of Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer). She's the genuine article, a truly good person caught in their web, and you just want to scream at her to run. The scene where Valmont 'corrupts' her in the chapel? Utterly heartbreaking because you see her internal struggle so clearly. It's not just about sex, it's about her faith, her convictions, everything she thought she knew about herself. And Pfeiffer just nails it. I do think the film kind of rushes the ending. Valmont's sudden remorse feels a little...convenient? Like they needed to wrap things up quickly. And I always find it a bit much when Merteuil gets publicly shamed. Like, yeah, she's awful, but it felt almost like a morality play being shoe-horned in. Still, those smaller gripes aside, it's a fantastic adaptation and a brilliant examination of power, manipulation, and the corrosive nature of societal games. Anyone else feel like Uma Thurman got a bit lost in the shuffle as Cecile? She was good, but kind of overshadowed. Also, small typo or editing error I caught this time, there's a period missing in the third paragraph. I'm not sure if this is an error in the movie source itself, or what.