I had forgotten about "college movies". I have seen many of them, and, as you know, it's all basically cliché and formula. Unbelievably, this is one of the reasons why, in its genre, but not probably as a movie, "The Rules of attraction" is a 7 out of 10. There's something more about the characters and their stories; there's emotion and even drama.
Directed with a style of his own, Roger Avary achieves backward scenes, and we see the stories as if we were rewinding a movie; this movie. The truth is they got very excited with the phenomenon, showing the credits in backwards, and doing another weird stuff; but it worked. The movie has some over the top cool scenes; they're having doing this. There was a very simple and flawed edition, I must say; with the wrong and inadequate blackouts Although you can't think Avary didn't take it seriously, because he did. Adapting Bret Easton Ellis' novel, Avary took charge of everything, making sure the music suited perfectly with each scene (we get music from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and now; great musical job, for a work with mostly unoriginal than original music). Easton Ellis could have been in college when he wrote the novel, because he seems to be inside this world. As not many other movies of this type do, "The Rules of attraction" makes us believe that everything is real, because of the way it is treated; you don't get the stereotyped characters we always see in these films, each person is different, how everybody talks, locations, marijuana, relationships; it's crazy! Well, someone is allowed to be a little crazy to create a story that goes like this: A popular guy called Sean, who says to be poor to sell drugs to the rich people in school, but is rich actually, and gets the drugs from a drug addict that could kill him; and he fucks a lot of girls, but then falls in love with one; Lauren, who used to date Paul, who now is gay and likes Sean, and Sean knows a guy named Victor, who goes to Europe to do crazy starts and is Lauren's impossible love, and Lara, Lauren's roommate, also likes him, but Lara has had sex with everyone, and now she wants to do it with Sean, but Lauren probably likes Sean See? There's love, too. The development you will see; I won't say more.
These characters are portrayed by a very interesting cast. Sean is played by James Van Der Beek and the truth is, he's getting old for this stuff. I mean, it's his type of film and he was good in "Dawson's Creek", but still is the actor from that show who improved the less (Katie Holmes is rising; Joshua Jackson is still there ). I liked him "Texas Rangers", but here he just seems the same. Now what can I say about Shannyn Sossamon? She's absolutely gorgeous and charming besides being a fine actress who hasn't made one false move. She plays Lauren with that charm and that originality. She has a long career waiting. Kip Pardue plays Victor with a personality created by him; I couldn't recognize him. He seems totally different from the Kip Pardue I met in Renny Harlin's "Driven". I've heard of his performance in "This Girl's Life", and I know he's a good actor. He added a lot to the film. Jessica Biel, as Lara, managed to shoe to me once again that she is incapable of composing a role, and that she continues to be "just" a pretty face. Ian Somerhalder; great groove man! I watch him every week in "Lost" and I saw him in this movie, so subtle, so controlled He steals the film. Thomas Ian Nicholas and Kate Bosworth work as ornaments, but Clifton Collins Jr That's "The Man" right there. One hundred percent of quality and style.
I'm glad I found a script in which the characters talk and say deep things like: "You never get to know anyone good"; at the same time they're thinking about their sexual relationships and assure: "I knew from the start that this would happen. I knew it was going to end like this", or that something is "typical"; "The Rules of attraction" shows hope in this type of cinema.
In this film, just to go on about its originality, there's a possibility that things en up badly, or that things don't end at all. But there are real looks, like in profound movies; there are no clichés, like in the movies that stand out; there's tragedy, like in a drama; and it's just another movie in the genre Rock and roll!
Directed with a style of his own, Roger Avary achieves backward scenes, and we see the stories as if we were rewinding a movie; this movie. The truth is they got very excited with the phenomenon, showing the credits in backwards, and doing another weird stuff; but it worked. The movie has some over the top cool scenes; they're having doing this. There was a very simple and flawed edition, I must say; with the wrong and inadequate blackouts Although you can't think Avary didn't take it seriously, because he did. Adapting Bret Easton Ellis' novel, Avary took charge of everything, making sure the music suited perfectly with each scene (we get music from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and now; great musical job, for a work with mostly unoriginal than original music). Easton Ellis could have been in college when he wrote the novel, because he seems to be inside this world. As not many other movies of this type do, "The Rules of attraction" makes us believe that everything is real, because of the way it is treated; you don't get the stereotyped characters we always see in these films, each person is different, how everybody talks, locations, marijuana, relationships; it's crazy! Well, someone is allowed to be a little crazy to create a story that goes like this: A popular guy called Sean, who says to be poor to sell drugs to the rich people in school, but is rich actually, and gets the drugs from a drug addict that could kill him; and he fucks a lot of girls, but then falls in love with one; Lauren, who used to date Paul, who now is gay and likes Sean, and Sean knows a guy named Victor, who goes to Europe to do crazy starts and is Lauren's impossible love, and Lara, Lauren's roommate, also likes him, but Lara has had sex with everyone, and now she wants to do it with Sean, but Lauren probably likes Sean See? There's love, too. The development you will see; I won't say more.
These characters are portrayed by a very interesting cast. Sean is played by James Van Der Beek and the truth is, he's getting old for this stuff. I mean, it's his type of film and he was good in "Dawson's Creek", but still is the actor from that show who improved the less (Katie Holmes is rising; Joshua Jackson is still there ). I liked him "Texas Rangers", but here he just seems the same. Now what can I say about Shannyn Sossamon? She's absolutely gorgeous and charming besides being a fine actress who hasn't made one false move. She plays Lauren with that charm and that originality. She has a long career waiting. Kip Pardue plays Victor with a personality created by him; I couldn't recognize him. He seems totally different from the Kip Pardue I met in Renny Harlin's "Driven". I've heard of his performance in "This Girl's Life", and I know he's a good actor. He added a lot to the film. Jessica Biel, as Lara, managed to shoe to me once again that she is incapable of composing a role, and that she continues to be "just" a pretty face. Ian Somerhalder; great groove man! I watch him every week in "Lost" and I saw him in this movie, so subtle, so controlled He steals the film. Thomas Ian Nicholas and Kate Bosworth work as ornaments, but Clifton Collins Jr That's "The Man" right there. One hundred percent of quality and style.
I'm glad I found a script in which the characters talk and say deep things like: "You never get to know anyone good"; at the same time they're thinking about their sexual relationships and assure: "I knew from the start that this would happen. I knew it was going to end like this", or that something is "typical"; "The Rules of attraction" shows hope in this type of cinema.
In this film, just to go on about its originality, there's a possibility that things en up badly, or that things don't end at all. But there are real looks, like in profound movies; there are no clichés, like in the movies that stand out; there's tragedy, like in a drama; and it's just another movie in the genre Rock and roll!