The Rules of Attraction
by Roger Avary
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ian Somerhalder, James Van Der Beek, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue, Shannyn SossamonDirector: Roger Avary
Brand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); German (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of The Rules of Attraction
Movie Review: Brilliant, dark, and very funny
Summary: 5 Stars
Bret Easton Ellis is an awesome writer. I think his book "American Psycho" captures a certain essence of modern America that eludes most authors. It's difficult to say that about a book whose main character spends most of his time killing people in the most nauseating ways possible while working days as a Wall Street insider. Based on that plot summary alone, I would say you'd have to be insane to think "American Psycho" is a modern classic. It is, though. It's how Ellis captures the vacuousness of the elites, the absolute absence of any form of morality, which makes the book shine. Too, he captures the mindlessness of rampant consumerism perfectly. He takes it over the top, I think, but he does so only to emphasize the emptiness of his characters. Not surprisingly, his other novels look at the same ideas from different perspectives. "Less Than Zero" cast a scathing eye on the immoral goings on amongst wealthy 1980s youth in Los Angeles. Then there's "Rules of Attraction," a book, eventually made into a major motion picture in 2002, which does the same thing for wealthy college students. I think I detect a pattern unfolding here!
"The Rules of Attraction" exposes the antics unfolding at Camden College, one of those snooty, Ivy League type schools attended by the offspring of America's rich and famous. Let's meet the cast of characters, shall we? We've got Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), a drug dealer in hot water with his supplier Rupert Guest (Clifton Collins, Jr.). Lauren Hynde (the delightful Shannyn Sossamon) is a pretty young girl saving herself for her boyfriend Victor (Kip Pardue), who in turn is currently making the party rounds in Europe. Lauren's roommate Lara (Jessica Biel) likes to mix it up with the entire male population of Camden College. Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder) is a chap that likes to swing both ways. He used to date Lauren before coming out of the closet, so to speak, and now has eyes for Sean Bateman, who he thinks swings both ways as well. I think that pretty much covers the main characters. We've got a host of minor actors in the unfolding story arcs--people like Candice (Clare Kramer), Kelly (Kate Bosworth), and Marc (Fred Savage)--to keep things popping. We also see Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as parents in a particularly amusing sequence.
Whew! Just trying to keep track of the characters takes up most of your first viewing experience. You'll need to watch the film again to get the most out of it, however, because director Roger Avary employs a most unusual narrative technique to tell these characters' stories. When we first enter the movie, Sean's prowling about the infamous "End of the World" party held every year on campus. We hear him talking about himself and his actions in voiceover, a tactic used for other characters as well, before the weirdness begins. Scenes start rewinding at an incredible pace, zipping back through what we've already seen in order to take us to another character's sad tale of woe. We see Sean's problems with Rupert, Lauren's romantic difficulties, and lots of out of control partying. We learn that Sean receives love notes in his post office box that he thinks Lauren sent. The two meet but eventually drift apart before anything serious occurs. That's mainly the crux of the film right there: interesting things start to happen but don't due to inaction, misunderstandings, and a lack of communication. It doesn't help that the characters labor under vacuousness so total as to preclude meaningful relationships with anyone other than themselves.
I got a huge kick out of this movie. Then again, I also got a huge kick out of the film versions of "Less Than Zero" and "American Psycho". Others disagree, obviously, but I think Ellis's novels translate well to the screen. "Rules of Attraction" works under the capable guidance of Roger Avery. I think a lot of people complain about this movie, and by extension the other film versions of Ellis's books, because they don't understand the subject matter. You can complain about the film's lack of substance (not substance abuse, though, because there's plenty of that to go around), but that's the point. Ellis writes books that expose the various forms of decadence plaguing our society, and writes them in order to show the consequences on its practitioners. If you can't grasp that concept, you won't like this film. Then again, maybe you will if you like your humor as black as pitch. Let me cite two wickedly funny sequences in the movie as proof. One, the scene in which Sean attempts to take his own life had me howling with laughter. I watched it again and again, and it never lost its ability to amuse. Two, Victor's sojourn through Europe is a sight and sound experience one should not miss. Hilarious. If you still can't groove to the flick, two words: Jessica Biel.
You'll find great picture and audio quality on this DVD. Supplements include an intriguing 26 minute "Anatomy of a Scene" that explains how Avary and company pulled off an especially tricky piece of camera work involving Sossamon and Van Der Beek. We also receive trailers and television spots for the film, promotional material, and a commercial for the book. We also get SIX commentary tracks. One of them is a bonus commentary with comedian Carrot Top (?). The rest rely on the various actors and a few crewmembers. SIX COMMENTARY TRACKS! What were they thinking? If you listen to all of them, and I did, you'll spend days working your way through this disc's special features. I like the movie, I'm giving it five stars, and even I don't think I needed to know this much information about the film. What's surprising is that director Roger Avary isn't on a single one of these tracks! Weird. Anyway, enjoy the film. It's a keeper.
Summary of The Rules of Attraction
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