Movie Review: Cruel Intentions (1999)

A loose adaptation and modernization of  Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Cruel Intentions enjoys a quite dazzling first half, but subsequently fades away into an overwrought mess.

In New York, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Geller) and her step brother Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) are very rich teenagers, unsupervised by their parents, and carrying a mean streak of cruelty to others. Sebastian enjoys collecting sexual conquests, and after humiliating his psychologist (Swoosie Kurtz) by seducing her daughter (Tara Reid), he sets his sights on Annette (Reese Witherspoon), the virginal daughter of his new schoolmaster. Kathryn, who pretends to be an exemplary young woman and a mentor to others, contrives a revenge on a former boyfriend that involves humiliating his new girlfriend Cecile (Selma Blair).

Kathryn does not believe that Sebastian can seduce Annette, and the step-siblings make a bet: she will sleep with him if he succeeds, and he will give her his prized car if he fails. Sebastian does get close to Annette, but his plan is knocked off-course when he starts to develop genuine affection for her. Meanwhile, Katherine finds it easier to control the naive Cecile, who embarks on a wild journey of sexual discovery much to the horror of her mother Bunny (Christine Baranski).

Directed and written by Roger Kumble, the opening 45 minutes of Cruel Intentions is a guilty pleasure masterpiece. The screen positively crackles with an edgy depraved cruelty, driven by the psychotic Katheryn and sexually insatiable Sebastian. As they gleefully plot to destroy the lives of others with barely a hint of remorse, Kumble demonstrates what it means for the devil to make work for idle hands. Katherine and Sebastian live to satisfy their uncontrolled urges at the expense of unsuspecting victims, and absolutely love doing so.

The second half of the film is not nearly as good. Once Sebastian gets in touch with his emotions and discovers that he can actually care about the feelings of another human being, the superficial talent at the core of the movie is exposed, the edge is rubbed off and momentum is lost. Ryan Phillippe cannot carry the role of conflicted lover, and the competitive dynamic between Kathryn and Sebastian is thrown out of balance. She is still on the path of cruelty while he wants out, and the disparity punches a hole in the narrative structure.

Geller and Blair emerge with the two best performances. Geller thrives as the dark protagonist, revelling in the euphoria of manipulation. Blair allows Cecile to bounce along the path laid for her by others, her mix of determined stupidity creating the perfect target for Kathryn's contemptuous darts. Witherspoon is steady, but the role of Annette does not offer much latitude for inventiveness. The supporting cast also includes Louise Fletcher and Sean Patrick Thomas.

Cruel Intentions is half of a very good movie, a case of mistimed moral awakening ruining a wicked romp.

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Movie Review: I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

A couple of eye-catching performances cannot elevate I Know What You Did Last Summer above routine slasher fare. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar prove themselves to be better than the material, Ryan Phillipe and Freddie Prinze Jr. do not, and the script falls foul of overcomplicating the premise and self-destructing on the rock of introducing the perpetrator too late into the body count.

In a small fishing town, four friends are celebrating their graduation from high school. Julie (Hewitt), her boyfriend Ray (Prinze Jr.), beauty queen Helen (Gellar) and rich kid Barry (Phillippe) are driving on a winding beachfront road when they accidentally strike and kill a stranger who suddenly wanders in front of their car. The four friends throw the body in the water and pledge to never discuss the matter. One year later, Julie is visiting home from college when she receives a handwritten note claiming "I Know What You Did Last Summer!". Soon, a mysterious executioner dressed in a raincoat starts to commit gruesome murders using a fishing hook.

Hewitt achieved deserved fame after I Know What You Did Last Summer became a box office success, and deservedly so. As Julie, Hewitt packs her tiny 5' 2" frame with a dark intensity mixed with defiance that doesn't quite overcome all the vulnerability, and while she can dominate a horror flick, she immediately establishes herself as capable of much more.

Also good but more comfortable within the confines of the genre is Gellar, who plays Helen as a flighty blond but with a mischievous smile dancing behind her lips, almost giving away the fun that she is having. Gellar would find her niche perfecting this semi-serious feisty damsel role on TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Hewitt and Gellar make sure that I Know What You Did Last Summer is fetching enough, but behind them lies the void, and director Jim Gillespie has little to work with beyond his two leading ladies. Prinze Jr. is lightweight enough to disappear to among the extras, and Philippe overcooks his intensity to a charred crisp. The script by Kevin Williamson ties itself in knots to avoid the obvious conclusion, rushing in the final 10 minutes to introduce a surprise murder sub-plot and a nondescript evil guy.

I Know What You Did Last Summer may have a couple of good answers, but not enough to pass the test of all seasons.

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