"Les liaisons dangereuses" (2003) TV mini-series

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Josée Dayan

Writers:

Choderlos de Laclos (novel)
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (adaptation)

Release Date:

25 August 2003 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Updated adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' classic 18th Century tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge...

Plot Keywords:

Betrayal | Seduction | 1960s | Sex Standing Up | Unwanted Kiss

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
Rupert Everett	...	Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont
Nastassja Kinski	...	Madame Maria de Tourvel
Danielle Darrieux	...	Madame de Rosemonde
Leelee Sobieski	...	Cécile de Volanges
Andrzej Zulawski	...	Antoine Gercourt
Cyrille Thouvenin	...	Hugo / Ludovic
Françoise Brion	...	Madame Volanges
Tedi Papavrami	...	Raphael Danceny
Maria Belooussova	...	La pianiste de la fondation
Paolo Capisano	...	Me Plissu
Jacques Collard	...	Le médecin de la clinique
Guy Dangain	...	L'appariteur de la fondation
Sophie Hermelin	...	La secrétaire de la fondation
Emilie Lafarge	...	L'assistante du directeur polytechnique

Also Known As:

Dangerous Liaisons (USA)

Runtime:

Canada:203 min | France:252 min | Germany:182 min (2 parts) | USA:202 min (2 parts)

Country:

Canada | France | UK

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Angus, Scotland, UK

Company:

JLA Productions

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The series takes place in late-'5's - early-'60s, yet Maria has a modern phone with a keypad in her hotel room.

Movie Connections:

Version of Kiken na kankei (1978)

Dangerous liaisons with plastic surgeons!!

Catherine Deneuve has always been one of my favorite stars, she's been in more good films than most, is obviously a very intelligent woman, an iconic beauty who has worked with the world's best filmmakers, so I try to see her every movie that reaches Brazil (not so many anymore). But this unspeakably inept adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' timeless classic seems to work only on two levels: as a jaw-dropper for lush costume design and as an involuntary cautious warning against plastic surgery!!

Just see what lousy jobs those doctors have done with Deneuve and Rupert Everett! While Deneuve now goes into a kind of Joan Crawford territory, has difficulty in flexing her facial muscles and has mouth ticks, Everett has had so much Botox that his forehead shines like a surfing board, and he seems perfectly fit to play the creature in a Frankenstein movie. Incapable of moving any muscle from the tip of his hair to his chin, it was fun just to turn off the volume and wonder what "emotions" he was supposed to portray!!

Lovely Nastassja Kinski is once again totally wasted (what's the problem? can't she get a better agent or isn't she interested at all in making decent films?) and likewise is wonderful Danielle Darrieux (who has aged so gracefully and is still beautiful in her 80s).

Josée Dayan has worked a lot for French TV, and must be 1) a very good sport 2) a quick-shooting, budget-respecting, producer's dream kind of director. That's the only explanation I can think of to the fact that, whenever a French miniseries adaptation of a great writer (Cocteau, Hugo, Druon, Balzac, George Sand, Beaumarchais etc) with famous stars gets a green light, she gets to direct it. And she consistently gets to make them always blah.

This is really bad, sorry to say, don't waste your time - especially if you're a fan of the stars. And God forbid those plastic surgeons!! My vote: 1 out of 10 (well, 3 out of 10 if you're in the mood for a mean laugh...)