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Reviews
The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Dawson's Crack
Sunday mornings and Dawson's Creek will never be the same again. Casting James Van Der Beek (television's squeaky clean Dawson) as Sean Bateman, an intense college kid who sleeps around and deals drugs, is a bold piece of casting that really pays off.
Roger Avary's (Killing Zoe) third movie in the director's chair focuses on Bateman and other disaffected rich kids sleeping and snorting their way through college, moving from one party to the next in the search for loveless sex. The tag of 'beautiful outside, ugly inside' fits almost every character in this film perfectly. The only character for which one has any sympathy is Lauren (Shannon Sossamon) who is saving herself for the right guy, but will she find him here? It seems unlikely. And anyway, even she blows her college professor for better grades.
Dawson's Creek this is most definitely not. Scenes of suicide, rape and, most bizarrely, Van Der Beek straining on the toilet, mean that this is not a wholesome family movie. Don't be put off though. The bold style, great soundtrack and strong performances from a very talented young cast makes this an engaging if bruising movie.
Take a deep breath, pay your £8, take your seat and try not to choke on your popcorn.
**** / *****
Intimacy (2001)
A "controversial" film lacking any bite
I thought this was a poor film. I'm sure most people went to see it because it included explicit sex scenes which are still rare in mainstream movies. Well, these supposedly controversial scenes were anything but erotic and have been put on film more effectively in the past (Ai No Corrida, Romance). By the third time the two lead characters got down to it I thought, why am I here?
The first half of the film is essentially plotless and lacking in meaningful dialogue although I suppose we're expected to experience the main character's life as he lives it and, well, this is his life, lacking in substance and meaning, much like this film for the first hour. Some of the acting was ATROCIOUS, although mainly by the supporting cast (Marianne Faithful for goodness sake!). The casting director really should get his head examined.
Although the direction was weak and despite the fact that I felt like walking out at one stage (and some people did), as with any not-great film there were positives. Timothy Spall is a very good actor and, although his character seems fairly one-dimensional initially, he injects a touch of class into some of the more powerful later scenes.
Otherwise, a fairly poor 2* out of 5*