The Rules of Attraction
This movie was so bad that it was almost painful to watch.
I was more than a little knocked out after seeing this flick . Not just because it was one of the bad movies I had ever seen , but also because of who was involved in it . Most of the cast rate from competent to top - notch , and the writer / theatre director was Roger Avary . For those of you who are n’t familiar with that name , he was a cobalt - writer forBeowulf , which received a positive review right here on Screen Rant . He also collaborated with Quentin Tarantino to come up with the stories for one of my all - time favorite movie , Pulp Fiction . Besides that , I had recently see the movie adaptation ofAmerican Psycho(which , like this movie , is an adaptation of a novel by Bret Easton Ellis ) , and I found it middling enjoyable overall . With all these thing in brain , I require to likeThe Rules of Attraction . However , I ’m afraid my response was almost entirely at the opposite extremum . This movie did almost everything wrong . Where do I even start ?
This movie , unlike the book of account , was not set in the 1980 ’s , opt for present - day instead . That was a mistake for several reasons :
The report is set in Camden College , a fictional schooltime in New England . The film’sprotagonistmain character is Sean Bateman ( played by James Van Der Beek ) , who is not only an all - around jolt , but also a drug dealer to boot . Every time he sees his supplier , Rupert ( play by Clifton Collins , Jr. ) , he almost lose his sprightliness , which I ’m assuming is supposed to be funny in some style . Early into the movie , Sean meets Lauren ( act as by Shannyn Sossamon ) , who is plainly ready to lose her virginity to the right guy rope . In her case , the right guy is Victor ( play by Kip Pardue ) ; the only problem is that she ca n’t even get Victor ’s attention , so she turns her attention to other guys , including Sean . As you might imagine , Sean is quite attracted to Lauren , so much so that he ca n’t seem to do anything right when he ’s around her . He ’s also draw to Lauren ’s slutty roommate Lara ( played by Jessica Biel ) , and there are a few awkward scenes to really emphasize that point . Does n’t voice too complicated , right ? Oh , but there ’s a twist . ( Is n’t there always ? ) Lauren ’s former boyfriend Paul ( played by Ian Somerhalder ) , who is bisexual , is also attracted to Sean , who is consecutive . And as if short Sean ’s life is n’t already rarify , he ’s also take in banknote from a secret friend .
Is your pass suffer yet ? Welcome to my hell … So now there are all kinds of questions to be reply ; the problem is that the audience is n’t compel to worry about the answers to any of them . Will Sean be able to manage his drugs in peace without being hurt or killed by Rupert ? Will Lauren terminate up losing her virginity ? If she does , will the experience be what she hop ? Will Lara end up sleep with every guy on campus by the closing of the movie ? Will Sean bring in that Paul ’s interactions with him are more than just well-disposed ? And if he does , what will he do about it ? Will Sean find out who his secret supporter is ? And if he does , will it be the person he hoped it would be — or at least the right gender ?
Among this movie ’s many failing , the giving one is that it has no appealing characters . Everyone in this movie is an idiot . To the pic ’s credit , I will say that Sossamon and Somerhalder do an admirable line of work of playing their respective characters , Lauren and Paul . Those two characters are almost likable at various degree , but even they eventually buckle under to stupidity . Not even cameos by Faye Dunaway , Swoozie Kurtz and Fred Savage can rip this motion-picture show out of the gutter . Some of you may be imagine , " Of of course they work like cretin ! They ’re in college , plus that ’s the whole pointedness of the movie / Word of God ! " I can go for both points as valid , but consider the case ofAmerican Psycho . The main character in that film was highly flavorless and shallow , but I base it reasonably gratifying . And how aboutPulp Fiction , which boast hitmen and thugs as its main characters ? That ’s a great flick ; I still enjoy ascertain it . And can you think of a good example thanDumb and Dumberfor main characters who behave like idiots ? But I think that flick was hilarious . It did n’t matter so much what the characters act like ; it was more about how much inducement the movie yield us to care about what happened .
As I watchedThe Rules of Attraction , I struggled to find an inducement to care about a single one of the characters , or even the account in universal . I just could n’t do it . The way the picture show secernate the tale made it impossible for me to become involved with the fiber . As an lesson , here is only a partial list of awkward and/or disturbing thing the picture could have done without :
On their own , each of the above detail might qualify as an intact element of a more flesh - out account , but in the context of general college life , they all seem like they ’re only there to add to the shock value . They do lilliputian or nothing to help us understand the characters better or manage about them more ; in realism , it ’s more like the exact opposite .
In prevision of the death threat and " you ’re a moron " posts that sometimes follow my negative limited review , I ’ll attempt to channelise some of your concerns off at the passport . I have envision Roger Avary ’s old writing / mastermind movement , 1994’sKilling Zoe . I opine it was hunky-dory , nothing great . It had a gamy - activeness finger to it , but miss the necessary wittiness and depth to be truly enjoyable . As I mentioned earlier , I have also seen the moving picture version of Bret Easton Ellis ' novel , American Psycho , which had its flaws but was reasonably enjoyable overall . But in the example ofThe formula of Attraction , almost everything was wrong . The story , the setting , the pacing , the character maturation … just about everything hit a sour note for me . I do n’t conceive the film was spoilt for lack of technical competence ; Roger Avary and the majority of the cast ( especially Sossamon and Collins ) have done great work in other production . Their combined talents were just horribly misused here , in a elbow room that made almost no mother wit to me .
The Rules of Attraction is a drama film directed by Roger Avary , which explore the life history of three estrange college bookman navigating relationship and existential desperation at a New England liberal artwork college . star James Van Der Beek , Shannyn Sossamon , and Ian Somerhalder , the film is base on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis and dig into themes of sexual love , compulsion , and apathy .
The Rules of Attraction is a drama film directed by Roger Avary, which explores the lives of three disaffected college students navigating relationships and existential despair at a New England liberal arts college. Starring James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Ian Somerhalder, the film is based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis and delves into themes of love, obsession, and apathy.
