The China Mail - 'Dangerous Liaisons' gets MeToo twist in prequel 'The Seduction'

The infamous tale of two ex-lovers who seduce and corrupt fellow aristocrats for their own debauched amusement, first penned in Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's 1782 novel, has been adapted several times previously.

Particularly notable examples have included Stephen Frears's 1988 film version of the same name, starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich, and the 1999 "Cruel Intentions," which transplanted the plot to preppy modern-day New York.

But the new small-screen version, in preview at The American French Film Festival (TAFFF) in Los Angeles this week, before streaming on HBO Max from November 14, takes a unique approach.

Across six episodes, it explores the early years of the Marquise de Merteuil, imagining the misadventures that led her to become the fearsomely manipulative, free-spirited and promiscuous widow of her later years.

The show chronicles the emancipation of "a humiliated young woman, who won't let herself be pushed around, won't tolerate this indignity, these attacks, this incredibly masculine world, and will want to break all the rules," explained Palud.

Franco-Romanian actress Anamaria Vartolomei ("Mickey 17") plays the heroine, whom we first meet as a pious commoner called Isabelle Dassonville, while Vincent Lacoste plays the menacing Viscount de Valmont.

The viscount stages a fake marriage to steal Dassonville's virginity, before vanishing.

She educates herself and marries a powerful nobleman in order to wage a vengeful war against men -- but further ordeals at the hands of the patriarchy await, including an attempted sexual assault, and a concealed abortion.

"Ultimately, little has changed for women" since that time, Vartolomei told AFP.

"If it is a timeless story, that's because it is still relevant, unfortunately," she said.

Diane Kruger ("Inglourious Basterds") plays Valmont's aunt -- a minor character from the novel, expanded here into a Machiavellian mentor, who guides our heroine through an aristocratic and libertine apprenticeship.

"Stop smiling so stupidly -- only whores let themselves be looked at like that," she tells her protegee in the first episode.

"Seduction is nothing. You must learn to control men."

- 'Modernity' -

Palud said the complex relationship between these two women brings a "modernity" to the classic story.

"It's a bit like the 18th-century MeToo," she said.

The series examines sex as a locus of power.

It charts how the Marquise de Merteuil makes and breaks reputations at the king's court.

"What 'Dangerous Liaisons' really is, is a schoolyard," Palud said, noting parallels with the sometimes brutal interactions of teenagers on social media today.

"Online, we can damage people extremely quickly today, and I tried to incorporate things like that into the series," she said.

The series's plot eventually converges with the original novel, without reproducing it exactly.

Attracted to each other but too enamored of freedom to renounce their schemes, the marquise and viscount make a dangerous gamble.

"We view them a bit as heroes because they appear brave and powerful," said Vartolomei.

"But deep down they're failures, because they deny themselves so many things. They're so afraid to discover their inner souls, it's almost absurd."

She added: "Maybe it's that absurdity that still resonates today."

A.Sun--ThChM