by Amanda Webster
Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Lesley Manville, Aidan Turner, Hannah van der Westhuysen, Monica Barbaro
Intro:
… a visual feast and undeniably entertaining.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, directed by Marianne Elliott, is based on a 1985 stage production adapted by Christopher Hampton. The original 1782 novel by Choderlos de Laclos was told through letters, revealing the skulduggery of the upper class in the salons of 18th-century France with the intention of exposing the moral decay within the aristocracy.
This latest NT Live production that’s playing in cinemas is a modern, mischievous spin on Laclos’ tale of seduction, power and moral ruin.
The protagonists, both lovers and rivals, are the aristocratic widow and master manipulator, Marquise de Merteuil (Lesley Manville), and the charming but predatory Vicomte de Valmont (Aidan Turner). Together, they use seduction and manipulation as tools in a villainous game of power, corruption and social ambition.
Marquise and Valmont devise a challenge – for Valmont to seduce both the young and guileless Cécile de Volanges (Hannah van der Westhuysen) and the devout Madame de Tourvel (Monica Barbaro). It’s a game played for amusement, and for Valmont’s satisfaction in watching Tourvel “betray everything that is most important to her”. In return, the Marquise offers herself as the ultimate prize, promising to rekindle their dormant passion if he succeeds. But the plan collapses when Valmont unexpectedly develops genuine feelings for one of his conquests, and both conspirators are undone by the inevitable clash between true emotion and cold vanity in a world where vulnerability is treated as a weakness to exploit.
Elliott’s stage production is sleek and contemporary; the take is a rather upbeat, comedic interpretation of the story’s Machiavellian undercurrents. Lesley Manville is commanding and regal, dripping in diamonds and disdain. Aidan Turner plays the Valmont with an exaggerated flourish, a performance that borders on self-aware parody and invites the audience to enjoy the melodrama. The set design is modern and minimal, using 18th-century sensual sketches as a backdrop in the second half and mirrored panels to reflect the characters’ duplicity.
The dance interludes between acts are beautifully choreographed, adding elegance and energy. Natalie Roar’s jewel-like costumes reflect power and wealth, while the confining straps on some dresses evoke chastity and restraint. The austere silent dancers tending to Cécile and Tourvel in the second half appear with shrouded faces, suggesting a metaphor for the tension between concealment and revelation.
The production doesn’t fully gather steam until the second half, when the stakes are raised as the consequences of their scheming begin to land. Valmont wrestles with emotions he lacks the maturity to navigate, and he is ultimately outplayed by the Marquise, whose true ambition is to “dominate the opposite sex and avenge her own”.
It’s a long watch, but one that delivers the richness of theatre without the cost or logistics of attending in person — a visual feast and undeniably entertaining.
