A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * * · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )
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Who would of thought that I could see a movie that would make me hate Portrait of a Lady more! But, here it is. Dangerous Liaisons is everything "Lady" should have been. We have a story of two members of late 1800s society who use love as a tool for revenge and manipulation. Glen Close and John Malkovich do very well as a duo bent on wrecking people from the inside out. What is irritating is that Malkovichs role was pretty much lifted from here and stuck into the man-hating "Lady" without much of a change at all. Hell, that was about the only good thing about that film. This movie on the other hand is quite wonderful and horrifying. It pulls no punches as it shows the viscous mental and physical rape of a young girl (Uma Thurman) on top of the normal manipulation of feelings. The wondrous way these two weave their webs for not much more than their own enjoyment is terrifying to behold. The DVD wasnt too bad with a 16x9 enhanced transfer, a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack but no extras. Overall quite a different film and certainly well done.