Cruel Intentions

Rating: ** 1/2
Date Seen: 1999-03-05

This movie has a very intriguing plot premise, competent acting, stylish cinematography, a lot of good dialog, and was quite entertaining. Unfortunately, it fell short in several areas. The pacing could have been better, particularly at the end. I would almost suspect that the movie fell victim to post-production time constraints. Or maybe the screenwriters just didn't want to be bothered with writing a decent ending.

Despite the irritating loose ends, I still think the movie has a lot going for it. It begins with a hilarious opening scene, where our protagonist, Sabastian (Ryan Phillipe), discusses his insecurity with his female therapist. It is patently obvious from the beginning that she doesn't really give a damn about him or his problems. She only talks to him because his parents are rich. When he askes about coming in next week, she politely but coldly reminds him that she'll be on her book tour so she can "help other people too". For a moment, we don't know whether the poor, sweet kid will make it, and he insists on giving her a big bear hug goodbye. Just after he departs, the therapist's daughter, in tears, calls her mother. Naked pictures of her have been posted on the Internet. The therapist mentally pieces things together and discovers that Sabastian has duped her daughter. He walks away laughing as she bangs on the window. The hadder has been had.

Such are the schemes of Sabastian and his step-sister, Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar), two spoiled, devious rich kids whose parents have always been too busy to care for their wayward offspring. (The parents never make a screen appearance.) The two plot and scheme together of ways to exact revenge on former lovers, corrupt virgins, and take glee in others' pain.

Sabastian also has a huge crush on his step-sister, a fact of which she is fully aware and takes full advantage. From this twisted relationship rises the central plot. Although the two of them paw each other almost constantly in private, they have never actually done it. So, when they discover that a girl is coming to town who has authored a manifesto about the virtues of being a virgin, Kathryn challenges him to corrupt the innocent Annette (Reese Witherspoon). They make a bet. If he fails, she gets his classic sports car. If he succeeds, he gets her, the details of which are negotiated in a hilarious bit of dialog.

As the conquest proceeds, he begins to develop a genuine affection for the poor victim. At the same time, he is helping Kathryn exact revenge on a former boyfriend by marring the morals his new girl. His character conflict climaxes when he must decide whether to hurt the precious Annette in order to keep his life of sadistic pleasures. Of course, his sister teases him along the entire way with the "reward" which will come if he wins the bet.

The final ten minutes of the movie were so shoddily written and edited that even if I wanted to write a spoiler, it wouldn't be worth putting here. I think the character development and pacing throughout the movie needed a bit of work from the writers. Otherwise, I thought the movie was very unique and well-made.

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