dangerous liaisons by choderlos de laclos

They fall in love with coaxing from Merteuil, who knows that Danceny, a poor commoner, can never qualify as a bona fide suitor. Valmont resolves to seduce Cécile as revenge for her mother's accurate denunciation of him.Īt the opera, Cécile meets the charming and handsome Chevalier Raphael Danceny, who becomes her music teacher. One of the letters intercepted is from Cécile's mother and Merteuil's cousin, Madame de Volanges, warning Tourvel that Valmont is nefarious and untrustworthy. Searching for leverage, he instructs his page Azolan to seduce Tourvel's maid Julie and gain access to Tourvel's private correspondence.

Tourvel rebuffs all of Valmont's advances. Never one to refuse a challenge, Valmont accepts.

Amused and incredulous at Valmont's hubris in pursuing the chaste, devoutly religious Tourvel, Merteuil ups the ante: if Valmont somehow succeeds in seducing Tourvel and can furnish written proof, Merteuil will sleep with him as well. Valmont declines, as he is plotting to seduce Madame de Tourvel, the wife of a member of Parliament away in Burgundy and a current houseguest of Valmont's aunt, Madame de Rosemonde. Merteuil calls on the similarly unprincipled Vicomte de Valmont, another ex-lover of hers, to do the deed. To soothe her wounded pride and embarrass Bastide, she seeks to arrange the seduction and disgrace of his young virgin fiancée, Cécile de Volanges, who has only recently been presented to society after spending her formative years in the shelter of a convent. In pre-Revolution Paris, the Marquise de Merteuil plots revenge against her ex-lover, the Comte de Bastide, who recently ended their relationship.

It received seven nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, including for the Best Picture, and won three: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. Grossing $34.7 million against its $14 million budget, it was a modest box-office success. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances by Close and Pfeiffer and the screenplay, production values and costumes. It stars Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick, Peter Capaldi and Keanu Reeves.ĭangerous Liaisons was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 American period romantic drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, based on his 1985 play Les liaisons dangereuses, itself adapted from the 1782 French novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

Dangerous liaisons by choderlos de laclos