Valmont (1989)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Choderlos de Laclos (novel)
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman...

Plot Keywords:

France | Love | Widow | Aristocrat | Candle

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Colin Firth	...	Valmont
Annette Bening	...	Merteuil
Meg Tilly	...	Madame de Tourvel
Fairuza Balk	...	Cecile
Siân Phillips	...	Madame de Volanges (as Sian Phillips)
Jeffrey Jones	...	Gercourt
Henry Thomas	...	Danceny
Fabia Drake	...	Madame de Rosemonde
T.P. McKenna	...	Baron
Isla Blair	...	Baroness
Ian McNeice	...	Azolan
Aleta Mitchell	...	Victoire
Ronald Lacey	...	José
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Jean
Sandrine Dumas	...	Martine

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2000) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Brazil:16 | UK:15 | Iceland:L | Peru:18 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:7 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, Calvados, France

Company:

Renn Productions

Trivia:

The film's release in territories such as UK was deliberately delayed to allow time to pass following the release of Dangerous Liaisons (1988).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tourvel is in the market she places several food items in her basket one after the other. However, every time she does so the basket appears empty even though she had just placed something in it a moment before.

Quotes:

Mertuil: Valmont, you disappoint me. That's what's keeping you here. Tell me, are you really falling in love?
Valmont: Does that make you jealous?
Mertuil: Not really.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary (1989) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Divertimento for Winds in B, K240

The Lack of Suspense is Made Up for by the Cast & the Look

Neither Jean-Claude Carrière's screenplay, nor Milos Forman's direction could capture the suspense felt in the stage play by Choderlos de Laclos ("Les Liaisons Dangereuses"), or Stephen Frears' film "Dangerous Liaisons" with Glenn Close and John Malkovich in the two leading roles.

Notwithstanding, "Valmont" is a lush and beautifully filmed adaptation of this piece with a cast well worth watching the film for. Visually, I think I prefer Forman's film to Frears', and certain performances are more layered in "Valmont". Annette Bening's smile is so winning that you can truly believe how people are duped by it, which makes it all the more shocking when she shows her ugly side. This is not to say that she's better in the role than Glenn Close was - just different. Both performances are brilliant.

Colin Firth's Valmont is a killer: his charm and sex appeal are like a Venus flytrap...you know they're dangerous, but you can't help being sucked in by them. He ultimately plays this very difficult role with more subtle layers than the brutally devastating performance that Malkovich gave. His Valmont is ultimately more likable as a person, despite his dastardly doings. This makes it easier to forgive him in the end.

No offense to Ulma Thurman, but I really did like the young lovers in Valmont better than in Dangerous Liaisons: Fairuza Balk as Cecile is perfect. Thurman (who is a wonderful actress) looked a tad too old to play a 15 year old and therefore her naivety comes across a being slightly dumb. Balk looks the right age and just comes off as one would imagine a teenage girl of that time and stature would be. Henry Thomas as Dancey is just heads over Keanu Reeves.

One does sorely miss Michelle Pfeiffer as Madame de Tourvel, since Meg Tilly is just so unfortunately miscast in the role. Whereby you can certainly understand why she throws all precaution to the wind and starts an affair with Colin Firth's Valmont, you simply can't understand what he possibly could see in her bland approach to this complex character.

Dangerous Liaisons just has a better script with much more tension and suspense than Valmont, but give this one a look - you won't be wasting your time.