Estranhas Ligações

This piece bears all the hallmarks of a cinematic cliché. A fancy exterior with a dumb content, it showcases grand emotions, tragic situations, black-and-white character contrasts, naïve thinking of the main characters, and a pseudo-moral catharsis at the end. This is the fourth film adaptation of "Cruel Intentions" and by far the worst. The depicted film world bears very little resemblance to reality and often comes across as downright ridiculous. The movie tries to lure viewers with beautiful faces, the glamorous world of American high society, stylish clothes, and fast cars. It's suitable for those who want to take a break from Beverly Hills 90210 and crave a hamburgerized classic. Overall impression: 25% for the elegant packaging and Reese Witherspoon. (25/07/2006)

The fact that this is a classic novel transferred to modern times bothers me least of all. What’s worse is that the unsympathetic Ryan Phillippe is not a particularly good actor, and the same can be said for Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the result is nothing more than a mildly irritating one-off spectacle in which, except perhaps for Reese Witherspoon's tears, everything is fake. (30/10/2016)

First disappointment, disgust, mockery. The second time reconciliation, apology to Kumbl, embarrassment over the change of mood from minute to minute, and admiration for the complete ensemble of actors. It will never be my personal film, but a well-timed screening has opened my eyes a little. P.S .: I made acquaintance for the third time and that atmosphere is crawling under my skin deeper and deeper. I don't understand myself, but my rating keeps rising higher and higher. (13/02/2008)

I still can't get over the "gelatinous" Selma Blair, who played the role really fantastically. Overall, the choice of actors was spot on. The film has a nice feel to it and for me, after quite a long time, a film that had me thinking "don’t end yet, movie". The story has to be taken with a grain of salt, but even that adds incredible charm to the film. Beautifully debauched... the ending maybe a little too much. I like the intrigue. (29/03/2011)

Quite an interesting translation of a classic story into modern high society. A nice runtime, fine actors, catchy music and a treatment clearly aimed at a younger and undemanding audience. But none of the ingredients are great enough to elevate the film to a higher level, and most importantly, compared to the classic 1988 version, I found this Cruel Intentions to be a very poor relation trying to ingratiate itself with the target audience. Sarah Michelle Gellar, for all her charm, is not the bitch that Glenn Close is, and Ryan Phillippe doesn't even come close to the sleaziness of John Malkovich. Otherwise, this is a surprisingly enjoyable and very well-written movie that deserves cult status to some extent. 70% (11/06/2013)