A few years ago I've seen a brilliant adaptation of the novel
- not DL
- not CI
and I'm still trying to find out the title.
"Cécile" is younger and shorter and isn't naive at all. One of the funniest scenes is at lunch in the garden. C. is asked if she is prepared to get marry. She answers: I've decided I marry him as my Mum wishes and I'll keep Danceny my lover.
If it's not this film, then can anybody tell me which one? PLEASE!!! Help me.
Thanks,
Andrea
Andrea... the scene in the garden and the line is definitely from Valmont. Great movie and way better than DL and CI. I can't believe it's so underrated!
shareHi Pianoman1980,
I love John Malkovich and "DL".
But "Valmont" looks at the same story at a very different angle.
She'll become pregnant from Valmont but she won't loose her baby. And Valmont's aunt is soooooo happy for these news she tells her. Is it still the same film?
Please, answer,
Thanks,
Andrea
Andrea... it is still the same movie! It seems you remember quite a lot of it.
I mostly enjoy John Malkovich's performances as well. He's a talented actor and director, but I didn't really like DL. In my opinion Valmont is much more fun and the soundtrack is amazing. Colin Firth (yeah Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice and Bridget Jones) also plays a more frivolous and seductive Valmont instead of Malky's dark performance. It's a shame Valmont didn't do well at the box office when it was released and never gained the recognition it deserves because it's definitely worth seeing and indeed it shows the sames DL story from a different perspective.
Hope my answer helps!
If this is all true, than "Valmont" is a sucess story.
She can handle her own life, she is witty, optimistic, she even becomes more and more practical, adjusts to society. But at the same time she remains a person with a good heart.
And that is exactly why DL is so concentrated on, since DL is NOT a success story.
1. We have the emancipated and evil Marteuil, her fate shows a wrong way. And at the same time her attempt to rule men, or at least to be equal with them fails, which is a tragedy.
2. So you also have the strong feelings such as love, desire, possessiveness and HATE. These feelings and their cause-and-effect attributes are strongly linked with the theme I mentioned first.
3. Tarvil also has to find out that she had deceived herself when believing that she was something better. And she has to fall when she becomes just one of the many lovers (even if it is reciprocate this time).
And there are many more things I don't see in "Valmont". (V and M are sort of friends in "Valmont".)
Unfortunately I haven't read the novel yet, so I can't tell if the DL-interpreation is an authentic one, but I'm afraid it's dynamic is excellent, especially as it touches these very contemporary problematics (I mentioned earlier).
Peace,
Andrea
Valmont is indeed less "tragic" than DL although it's not all fun and glory. I really like the joie de vivre feeling in it. Colin Firth is also convincing as a seducer and although I'm not a woman myself I highly doubt if women would easily fall for John Malkovich's Valmont who should be a womanizer according to the novel.
shareYour using modern sensebilities and notions of atractiveness to judge wether Malkovich could be a succesful seducer. I'm nto bashing or insulting you I'm just meerly pointing out that back then atractive men did not look like Colin Firth because very few men or women looked like the Hollywood stars of today.
Now of course to get audiences to understand attractive back then maybe you should use hollywood beauty but I think DL was better film becuase the director chose actors who were convicing characterwise and not for modern beauty.
I MUCH prefer DL over Valmont even though I love Colin Firth in all his other work, I cannot abide his Valmont..he's too childish and not an acomplished mature seducer to me at all. As handsome as he his Vamont cannot compare with Malkovich, who actually made me shiver. Firth just made me confused and at times sadly amused by his boyish attempts.
I have always liked John Malkovich as an actor. But his Valmont was really over the edge and just to sinister. CF was so much better. Meg Tilly was not all that bad as some people say.
share