Stephen
Frears,
the
director
who
bolstered
his
international
reputation
with
his
Choderlos
de
Laclos
adaptation
Dangerous
Liaisons
(1988),
returns
to
the
annals
of
period
intrigue
over
twenty
years
later
with
this
melodrama,
which
reunites
him
with
Liasons
scripter
Christopher
Hampton
and
star
Michelle
Pfeiffer.
An
adaptation
of
Colette's
1920
novel
of
the
same
name,
the
tale
unfurls
in
late
19th
Century
Paris
- La
Belle
Époque
-
where
numerous
courtesans
(or
female
companions
of
noblemen
who
occupied
the
royal
courts)
have
worked
their
ways
up
through
the
ranks
of
high
society.
Two
retired
courtesans,
Charlotte
Peloux
(Kathy
Bates)
and
Lea
(Michelle
Pfeiffer)
meet
for
some
routine
gossip;
Lea
then
meets
Charlotte's
hedonistic,
playboy
son,
nicknamed
"Cheri"
(Rupert
Friend)
and
a
passionate,
erotic
affair
blossoms
for
the
next
six
years
between
Lea
and
Cheri.
Eventually,
Charlotte
makes
an
aggressive
attempt
to
interfere
with
the
situation
by
setting
up
an
arranged
marriage
between
Cheri
and
the
virginal,
18-year-old
Emee
(Felicity
Jones),
the
daughter
of
another
ex-courtesan,
Marie-Laure
(Iben
Hjejle).
Lea
feels
irritated,
and
responds
by
seeking
out
young
male
lovers
during
a
vacation
in
Biarritz,
but
the
attached
Cheri
is
not
far
behind,
and
in
seemingly
no
time
at
all
the
two
resume
their
bedroom
liaisons.
-
Nathan
Southern,
All
Movie
Guide
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