Dangerous Liaisons (directed by Stephen Frears and released 1989) brings to life Rococo France and examines the depths of human behaviour as exemplified by many in society's privileged aristocratic classes - not only in the eighteenth century. The novel upon which it is based was originally published in 1782 as Les Liasons dangereuses. Written by Pierre Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos the novel is clearly influenced by its author's views, opinions and perhaps observations of human behaviour. Laclos was a French army general and a government official who was patronised by the duc d'Orléans. The duc was the highest ranked aristocrat in France and this alone would have ensured that Laclos had unrivalled access to the subject matter of his novel. None of this seems to be lost in the 1989 film adaptation - a remarkable fete for the director, producers, craftspeople and actors.
The plot is exceptional, gripping and thrilling but none of it will be revealed here - in case you've not seen it yet. Laclos takes a scalpel and cuts out its themes clinically before taking a microscope and finding the heart and consequences of matters such as jealousy, revenge and malice. The film acts magically as the novel's accomplice and evokes a huge range of emotions in its audience and symptoms such as lumps in throats, tears and realisation abound. The education one surreptitiously receives is not only about the lives of French aristocrats before the French Revolution but also about the capabilities of people with power and privilege. Dangerous Liaisons is, unapologetically, a Morality Tale. Its genre description as a “romance” is almost misleading.
By way of further recommendation, if you've never seen Dangerous Liaisons, it won multiple Oscars. It benefits from excellent performances by Glen Close and John Malkovich among others. If you have seen it you'll know it's worth another viewing and hopefully this will be a timely reminder to watch Dangerous Liaisons again.
