The Rules of Attraction
2002 Directed by Roger Avary
Synopsis
We all run on instinct.
The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.
Cast
Studio
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JESUS HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE!
A beautifully shot film, showing us the sort-of ending in the beginning, but a mild change in events at the end. With an incredible cast and interesting story about a love triangle between Sean(James Van Der Beek), Sean(Ian Somerhalder) and Lauren(Shannyn Sossamon).
Visually appealing for the audience, with backward sequences, explaining what the cast were doing at the exact time; only in the opening scene though, which was absolutely perfect for this film. With realistic happenings throughout the film, that may make your mind explode with complete anxiety, you are instantly drawn to the characters. Each character is emotionally unstable. Filled with dark humor and episodes of sadness, you have a beautiful film.
Oh and Jessica Biel is in this, yea, she is fiiiiiine.
OH AND IAN SOMERHALDER DANCES IN HIS BRIEFS, multiple times, if that doesn't make you want to watch this, please drown yourself in a tub full of acid. -
Back in the day, before he became obsessed with Fifty Shades of Grey and casual homophobia, Bret Easton Ellis was an interesting writer with a number of interesting things to say. The Rules of Attraction, arguably his most famous and accomplished novel outside of American Psycho, was one of my favourite books as a teenager. As a godless sodomite born into a family of amoral atheists, I needed something to act as a bible and, for a while, The Rules of Attraction filled that void. I felt like I “got” it more than anything else I’d ever read and, more importantly, I felt like it “got” me too. It was the book that I always turned to when I…
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A brilliantly made film.
This is probably America's Trainspotting.
Roger Avary shows some very exciting direction. The cast are all excellent and together they bring us a breathtaking story told in breathtaking style.
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The best thing about The Rules of Attraction was the screenplay and directing. Everything was cool and stimulating, both visually and aurally. This movie must have been mis-marketed when it came out because I remember seeing the TV spots, but I didn't expect anything like this. Avary's directorial style was new and original to me without being too artsy-fartsy. It helped that a lot of the music was upbeat and to my tastes. Being a book adaptation, I can tell they could have easily made this overlong or taken too much out. Even though every subplot is not fleshed out to the maximum, the story completely works as a film. Not every story (any of them?) has a real resolution either. It's like "We're stopping the film here, but rest assured, the characters are going to continue to live their lives for better or worse. Here are your credits in reverse." Nice touch.
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I debated for a long time whether or not to read the book this film is based on first, i decided against it. I feel like i made a huge mistake.
I don't really know how to articulate it. What started off as an interesting portrayal of the intertwining relationships of obnoxious vulgar characters became something much more real and powerful, i can't pinpoint exactly when that happened. I feel like i didn't get it all. There's a big piece of the puzzle that i can't find. I know there's something there and i don't know what it is, i can't clear the steam away to see through that window yet, but it's there, i can feel it.
I wrote… -
I honestly don't know where to start this review. There are so many wonderful things about this movie and I fell in love with it within a few minutes.
It's just so crazy delightful and off kilter. Roger Avary lets this movie go off in so many fascinating directions and, true, not all of them work, but this is so much more than the sum of its parts. That split screen shot! The opening scene! The Europe montage! So many wonderful moments that flow perfectly together and so many amazing characters that you just know Avary could have picked three random characters and made the movie about them and it would have been just as good because everyone the camera…
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I honestly don't know where to start this review. There are so many wonderful things about this movie and I fell in love with it within a few minutes.
It's just so crazy delightful and off kilter. Roger Avary lets this movie go off in so many fascinating directions and, true, not all of them work, but this is so much more than the sum of its parts. That split screen shot! The opening scene! The Europe montage! So many wonderful moments that flow perfectly together and so many amazing characters that you just know Avary could have picked three random characters and made the movie about them and it would have been just as good because everyone the camera…
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This movie is so in love with itself and desperately trying to be clever that it is completely nauseating.
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When this movie came out I was 19 finishing my splendid german education. So it goes without saying, that if I'd had seen this movie back then I would have loved this a little to much. We did the drugs, we did the booze, we did the ladies. But they were nowhere as hot as the girls in this movie. I mean...Jessica Biel? Come on.
The most amazing thing is hearing "Sei dein eigener Held" by "Der Wolf" playing on one of the parties. Why the fuck would they add some obscure german rap song to the soundtrack? If you ask a german teenager today they will not know who "Der Wolf" is.
In restrospect the one thing missing is…
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JESUS HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE!
A beautifully shot film, showing us the sort-of ending in the beginning, but a mild change in events at the end. With an incredible cast and interesting story about a love triangle between Sean(James Van Der Beek), Sean(Ian Somerhalder) and Lauren(Shannyn Sossamon).
Visually appealing for the audience, with backward sequences, explaining what the cast were doing at the exact time; only in the opening scene though, which was absolutely perfect for this film. With realistic happenings throughout the film, that may make your mind explode with complete anxiety, you are instantly drawn to the characters. Each character is emotionally unstable. Filled with dark humor and episodes of sadness, you have a beautiful film.
Oh and Jessica Biel is in this, yea, she is fiiiiiine.
OH AND IAN SOMERHALDER DANCES IN HIS BRIEFS, multiple times, if that doesn't make you want to watch this, please drown yourself in a tub full of acid. -
1st - 4.5
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A clever, brutal satire on hedonistic college society. So enjoyably unlikable.
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This was a weird movie, especially for a high-schooler, but I liked how strange and perverted it was.
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basada en la novela homónima de Bret Easton Ellis y protagonizada por James Van Der Beek (por siempre será Dawson de Dawson crece), Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder y Jessica Biel entre otros. Sátira negra, mejor la novela pero se deja ver, el cartel de los peluches es todo un puntazo.
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Privileged, hedonistic white freshmen bathe in a cynical world of ennui in Avary's idiosyncratically energetic and valium-popping picture. Leaving his woolen jumper nice guy from Dawson's Creek is James Van Der Beek as sleazy, predator extraordinaire Sean Bateman to Ian Somerhalder's narcissistic, bi-curious Paul. At the time, "it" girl Shannyn Sossamon rounds out the lovelorn trio - kind of miscast as a sexually confident virgin - who is hanging out to "lose it" to her dream guy. Beginning at the End of the World party, these initial fifteen minutes set the motions for what follows in an off-kilter, visual gimmick riot. Gross extremes and a critical comic stance wield upon these awful, unsympathetic characters - but thankfully not against it.…