Dangerous Liaisons

Much scarier than the above picture, this comic/tragic period piece offers stellar performances by John Malkovich and Glenn Close, as scheming seducers who use sex as a weapon (talk about lethal weapon). They blithely go about destroying the lives of unfortunate innocents, for fun and profit. The picture is precisely written, meticulously produced, and very well cast and directed. Amusing at first, it becomes less so when the real awfulness of the two principals becomes apparent; but even then, it exerts a powerful fascination, just like the spectacle of a big cat killing and eating its prey. Ultimately the picture is a downer, and its greatest strength--icy precision--leaves little room for passion or soul.