The premise, borrowed shamelessly and brilliantly from Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses , is deceptively simple. In the gilded cages of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, step-siblings Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) play games with human beings. Sebastian’s goal: deflower the virtuous, virginal headmaster’s daughter, Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon). Kathryn’s wager: if he succeeds, she will grant him a single night with her. If he fails, Sebastian loses his prized vintage Jaguar. The currency here is not money, but reputation, sex, and the exquisite pain of emotional destruction.
