Whilst Milos Forman's picture may have been overshadowed by the success of Dangerous Liaisons a year earlier, this adaptation of the same text is the more beautifully shot and emotional of the two films.
This is the story of a scorned woman and a rakish young man. One longs revenge upon her former lover who is about to be married, the other wishes to corrupt a woman who appears the very model of a faithful wife. However he also lusts after her, a former lover, and so finds himself ensnared in her plans.
As Valmont, Colin Firth is youthful, playful and vigorous. A ball of energy, he could not be more different from the more aloof, cold performance from Malkovich in Liaisons. The result is that his Valmont is easier to sympathise with and his fate is more affecting for that.
Annette Bening, in one of her earliest major roles, is fine as the bitter Marquise de Merteuil, yet it is harder to understand her domination over Valmont. Her performance and mannerisms are softer and more emphasis is placed on her feelings of humiliation stirring on her wickedness, rather than simply her nature.
The film features excellent support from Fairuza Balk as the fifteen year old convent girl who is to be married to Merteuil's former lover, and Sian Phillips as her mother. Both are excellent and give strong performances - particularly Balk who invests Cecile with a complexity and depth towards the end of the film. Here she is not simply a victim towards the end, she seems happy to be 'corrupted'.
With stunning visuals, locations and costumes, Valmont appears to tick all the right buttons and yet I was left with reservations. With Frear's adaptation I could easily understand its purpose and its meaning, yet Forman's work lacks a clear thread of thought.
His characters inspire neither revulsion nor sympathy, the tone here feeling closer to a Tom Jones-like romp than to the tragedy it occassionally threatens to become. Moreover, several characters do not get their comeuppance, nor do the 'victims' seem harmed by their ordeals.
The result is a film that entertains and pleases yet never fully satisfies, despite the picture's excellent cast and its high production standards.