Dangerous Liaisons - the play, the movie...

I remember watching Dangerous Liaisons when I was in the sixth grade, around 1997-1998. This was at the time I became obsessed with movies and I spent most of my time circling around in town, exploring every video store and renting videos like mad. There were days when I got up, went to school (from around 7.30 until 12.30 or something), then got back home, got around three movies on my way home, put the very first one into the video recorder once I got home (no time for lunch or even getting something to drink) and watched all three movies in a row, which means that I've seen them by the time my parents came home around 7 p.m.

Of course, most of the films I saw at the time, I didn't even understand -- like The Godfather or Raging Bull or Taxi Driver. Anyway, I had some inner mechanisms that helped me to separate the the good one from the bulk. I remember watching Taxi Driver during the Xmas break (Dec 30th, I'm sure about the date, I remember it!) & I remember that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, even though most of what was going on made no sense to me at all. (Actually, watching all these films as a kid made me consider myself a bit stupid, because I rarely got what was going on, but I loved it anyway. But hey, you aren't supposed to see Bergman, Kurosawa and Fellini when you're a kid.)

So I spent a lot of my time watching movies -- anything I could get. And of course, I saw some good old movies on cable TV as well. My English was extremely limited at the time, but I was waiting for the 11 p.m. start of TNT Classic Movies and I've seen Gone With the Wind hundreds of times. (At least I got this one.) On TNT I saw An American In Paris, Citizen Kane, The Sound of Music and many other classics. But there wasn't anything about them that made me wanna see more like the cinema of the 70's - Scorsese, Woody Allen, Bergman, Sidney Lumet, Coppola.
I saw anything. Anything.

One day - on my way back home after school (I was a sixth grader and already HATED school!) I stopped by at the video store and the guy who worked there gave me Star Wars. Three films. I was enthusiastic about them, because my uncle (who's a cool guy) was a huge fan. Right now I realize everybody who's born in the 70's is a huge Star Wars fan, but to me it was simply ridiculous. It was so obvious and the special effects were really naive. It wasn't grand scale filmmaking the way I imagined it would be. It didn't touch me. It didn't make me cry or wanna see more. It was no Spielberg (and I was a fan back then) and even though I liked some of the characters, it didn't interest me at all. In the end of the day I went back to my good old friend Steven. By the time I've seen Indiana Jones (all three parts -- and I was a huge fan of the first one, I've seen it hundreds of times) and I loved E.T. & I've even seen some of his more serious efforts - like A Color Purple and Schindler's List (at the time I was really impressed with the red dress as opposed to the black/white surroundings).

Anyway, I've seen Dangerous Liaisons on a cold day in February, I guess. I remember from exactly which video store I rented it & I went home right away, because I was really liked the poster of the film and thought it would be fantastic.

I didn't get most of the film, even though the acting appealed to me. By the time I was a huge Michelle Pfeiffer fan because of Batman and a very popular movie she was in at the time (a movie about a teacher in a school, where most of the kids are in gangs) and I wanted to see this one. I loved it, even though I didn't get it the least.

Now -- being already in my 20's -- I realize a lot has changed. Many of the movies I loved as a kid make no sense to me right now and it's a huge disappointment (and extremely painful actually) to watch a movie as a kid, love it, become passionate about it and then you revisit it some ten years later, when you're aready at university or graduating and .... well, it's bad. It's so obviously a bad movie and even if it isn't bad, you're far more obsessed with its faults and the story not working the way it should and the structure and the acting here and there being a bit over the top and you feel kind of betrayed. Because it's like the kid believing his Dad rules the world and once you understand he isn't that perfect at all, you kind of gotta say goodbye to all your illusions. Anyway, this one surprised me. Of course it has flaws. Every movies does. But it has this aura, which I love. It's entertaining. The acting is superb -- nobody delivers a line like Glenn Close. And John Malkovich's Valmonte is as lustful, frightening and devilish as he was back then. And Michelle Pfeiffer actually delivers in a role that --- I know realize it --- could have easily gone wrong... (Anyway, I still can't understand how Kianu Reeves got all these parts? Not only here. He was cast by some of the filmmakers I adore in big meaty parts and his acting is always pretty bad. The most unexpressive eyes ever. And an awkward voice. Blah.)

But what I love about Dangerous Liaisons now is the script. The text. The character development. The dialogue. It's spot on.

Valmont (Malkovich): Surely you understand that. I thought betrayal was your favorite word.
Marquise de Merteuil (Close): No, no... Cruelty. I've always thought that has a nobler ring to it.

I love this one short piece of dialogue and if you think about it, it's pretty much functional. And I love the ease with which Glenn Close pronounces it. Marquize de Merteuil is bored. She lives in boredom and all her wit & depravity derive from that. Glenn Close delivers this line as an expression of the lifestyle. She finds both the right way to express this boredom, this stagnating life between the walls of this richly decorated house, in which she plays all her wicked games. But at the same time there is the pleasure evident in her words. The pleasure her character finds in herself, in who she is and what she strives after. There is somebody, who knows how to communicate to get what she wants - she's never at the loss for words, the right words. She's smart and witty and her words are knives. But what's far more important, there are glimpses of her self here and there and she enjoys being naked in front of somebody else. A naked soul. But only for a minute, for a second. Not enough for anybody to see her.

Anyway, the script is amazing. I started reading the play and once I finish it, I could try to direct some pieces of it. We'll see... :)

Hey!

This is my very first post and I really don't know how to introduce myself. I hate introductions and I think it's weird to start talking about who I am and what I like/dislike, like if it's my first English lesson and the teacher is making me try to introduce myself to the class. Anyway, here are just a few things about myself (as short as it goes):

Early twenties.
Coffee addict. I have my coffee without sugar or milk.
Obsessed with theater and literature.
An avid fan of movies, especially Bergman, who's after all a theater guy.
An urban type.
Love to travel. But hey, who doesn't?
Love to jog every morning.
Love coffee shops and meeting friends.
Love long, useless philosophical conversation.
A newborn passion: philosophy. I never thought that would happen.
Love Nina Simone.
Love Coldplay (but come on, Gwyneth Paltrow is no real actress, even though I love The Royal Tenenbaums, but hey, Wes Anderson at his very best could make anybody act!)
Sofia Coppola & Meryl Streep & Tina Fey & Julie Delpy - I love ya!
And of course, I just started reading Sylvia Plath's poetry and her novel The Bell Jar and it's amazing. I really hope a friend of mine could make me a present and bring me the edition of her diaries.
I love foreign languages.
I'm sucker for Before Sunset and Beore Sunrise (Richard Linklater's movies).
I love rumors. I love forests, I love small talk, I love Harold Pinter, I love Chekhov, I love mythology, I love my bike, I love cats and I love mountains, I love playing hide-and-seek and I love the sea.

That's pretty much everything I wanna share for now. And it actually reveals nothing. Which is extremely satisfying.

And right now I'm wondering why I didn't start this post in English in the very first place....