| THE RULES OF ATTRACTION Rating:  Director: Roger Avary Writer: Roger Avary Producer: Greg Shapiro Director of Photography: Robert Brinkman Cast: James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel Visit the IMDB Page for full cast and crew |
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Review by: Ryan
Kugler
10/01/02
What happens when the Oscar-winning co-writer of Pulp Fiction (he wrote The Gold Watch segment) tackles a controversial book by the author of Less Than Zero and American Psycho? The possible demise of the teen movie as we know it (hope, hope). Roger Avary's adaptation of the Brett Easton Ellis novel The Rules of Attraction is bold and daring, and although it's a flawed work (some performances fall flat, some scenes are way over-the-top and in the end, what's really the point of it all?), it's exciting, original, never boring and never less than brilliant.
The film (more a series of vignettes than a traditional narrative) tracks the lives of a group of privileged kids attending Camden College in New England. We are introduced to the three main characters during the "end of the world" party, a flawlessly executed pre-title sequence that gets things started out with a bang (literally). Once the madness settles down, we are reintroduced. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is a deeply troubled kid, who deals drugs and lives to party and have sex with anyone he can get his hands on. Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon) is a nice, reserved girl, saving herself for the right guy, who she thinks she has found in Sean. Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder) is a quiet kid, comfortable with his bisexuality and longing for some time alone with Sean. The film follows the exploits of these three, as they deal with friends (Jessica Biel, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Kip Pardue), parents (Faye Dunaway, Swoosie Kurtz), acquaintances (Clifton Collins, Jr., Fred Savage) and an unconventional teacher (Eric Stoltz), during a semester of partying (and more partying) at school.
This is only Avary's second time behind the camera (the first was with the critically maligned Killing Zoe) and he does a great job directing his huge and mostly talented ensemble cast. It's true that he uses several cinematic tricks (including characters moving backwards through time, split screens and sped-up-action), which some might find over-indulgent, but I didn't. These techniques actually work to the benefit of the film and help to tell the story that he's trying to tell. I don't want to ruin anything, but the montage of Victor's (Pardue) trip abroad is one of the highlights of the movie-going year.
Any year when my two favorite performances are given by Val Kilmer (Salton Sea) and Matthew McConaughey (Frailty) is a strange one. Things are about to get a whole lot weirder with the following admission: James Van Der Beek is absolutely amazing in this thing (and no, I don't need to be committed). It's true, Dawson Leery gives what could turn out to be my single favorite performance of 2002. He's that good as the intense, disturbed and ultimately unforgettable Sean. He transforms before our eyes into this character and all signs of the innocent boy on the WB are gone. Appropriately enough, his character is supposed to be the younger brother of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, though a scene of the two talking on the phone (while the older one holds a severed head) has been cut. This isn't the type of role, nor is it the kind of film that wins awards (it's too outrageous for the Academy), but in a perfect world, Van Der Beek would be a serious contender (maybe I should be committed).
The other two leads (especially the excellent Somerhalder) and most of the supporting cast does memorable work, but the real standout is Russell Sams in a ten-minute scene-stealing role as Paul's friend Dick Jared. In a film filled with many hilarious moments, the dinner scene involving these two friends and their mothers is the funniest.
Like life, The Rules of Attraction is messy, out-of-control and it doesn't neatly tie itself up at the end. It's also smart, stupid, funny, dramatic, exciting, tragic and all kinds of other adjectives. If reactions at the screening and advanced reviews are any indication, it will become a classic love it or loathe it kind of film. Me, I loved it.
(A Lions Gate Films Release. Opens
wide on October 11.)
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