The Rules of Attraction
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[WARNING: Timid readers may find some language herein offensive. If you are upset by this review, there's no way you'd enjoy this movie.]
And it came to pass that a movie went out throughout the land, I am sorely vexed by the trend of movie protagonists being just obnoxious, amoral assholes (sorry, I'll be politically correct: Anus-Americans). These A-A characters revel in their egocentric pursuits, not caring who they offend, alienate, or hurt. If there was some glimmer of remorse or an inkling of insight gained from their tribulations, I could forgive a boatload of bad behavior. Alas, the A-A protagonists neither struggle with their flaws nor learn from them, but wallow in them as a water slide into a morass of self-absorbed angst. Those that argue in favor of this movie may feel it is cutting-edgy filmmaking. It did look like the first big-budget project of someone fresh from film school (it's not). If reverse action shots and intimate bodily functions excite you, this film is a treat. If you also like seeing people exploited, assaulted, embarrassed, violated, debased, betrayed, humiliated, ridiculed, and abused by assholes (non-PC, sorry!), you've hit the cinematic jackpot. You'll probably buy the DVD. I admit it wasn't all bad. There was one sequence that stood out as grippingly honest filmmaking; hard to watch and skirting the edge of melodrama, but powerfully moving. Unfortunately, it was only a brief sub-plot. This film does make me feel better about my predominately studious, monogamous, and sober college experience. It turns out that the party-hearty students were just compensating for their shallow, miserable lives. Now I don't envy them at all.
If you liked the movies below, you may like this one (and visa versa):
Eight-Facet Info Rating, rated on a scale of 0 (None) to 4 (Lots!)): |