I wasn’t predisposed to like Amazon Prime’s re-make of Cruel Intentions. The 1999 film, itself an adaptation of the 18th-century epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, is a cult classic for a reason. Why mess with perfection?
But despite an overly peppy-looking trailer, this 2024 incarnation doesn’t shy away from the weirder, sexier elements – namely the messed-up relationship between power hungry step-siblings betting on seducing innocent third parties. And yes, there’s a significant-looking crucifix necklace in play.
Cruel Intentions (2024) has moved the action on campus to Manchester College, a fictional university close to Washington DC where all the politicians send their sons and daughters. Political life on campus is thus a microcosm of intrigue, backstabbing and possible election interference. Tensions are rising as the sororities and fraternities have been put on notice, following a (fairly tame) hazing incident the previous semester.
Caroline Merteuil (White Lotus season 3’s Sarah Catherine Hook) rules Delta Phi with an iron fist. In order to safeguard her position at the top she sets her sights on getting Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith) – the vice president’s daughter, no less – to rush her sorority, enlisting the help of her feckless seducer stepbrother Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess). Yes, they call each other Brother and Sister in-between being weirdly touchy feely.
If he succeeds in his mission, she’ll give him what he wants: an hour of sexual access to her, his most taboo sexual step-fantasy. Shenanigans and machinations ensue.
The politicised plot beats are perhaps a little on the nose when it comes to narratives about social justice and campus activism. This is Dangerous Liaisons for the #MeToo generation. But the snappy script, fun costuming and oodles of rich people being beautiful and hateful make it a fun watch. It’s a spiritual successor to Gossip Girl – the original, not the naff remake on HBO.
It’s a big ask to expect young actors to hold a candle to the likes of a young Sarah Michelle Geller, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair. Hook gives a nicely chilly performance as Catherine, so spookily calm she may as well be popping Klonopin rather than snorting consecrated cocaine. Burgess suffers from having to sport a regulation Gen Z haircut, a floppy mop that reads as more boy band than bad boy.
The stand-out performance comes from Sara Silva as Cece Carroway, Catherine’s stressed out right-hand woman shows she has the comic timing to match a young Amanda Seyfried.
Despite its political bent, Cruel Intentions doesn’t quite have the appetite for tearing apart the depraved wealthy elite that the pre-French Revolution original source material had. But it’s a fun watch if you’ve already binged Rivals and The Perfect Couple and are looking for the next instalment of hot rich people behaving badly.
Cruel Intentions is on Amazon Prime from November 21.
