By
adapting Bret Easton Ellis' pessimistic novel, The Rules of Attraction,
writer-director Roger Avary is able to utilize nearly every visual technique he learned
while working
with Quentin Tarantino in the now infamous Video Archives. We get rewinding
shots, slow-motion shots, split-screens, dance numbers, and montages, an
accumulation of Avary’s self-proclaimed “film geek” knowledge. Considering
this man helped write Pulp Fiction, for which he and writing partner
Tarantino won an Oscar, watching his latest film should be interesting, right? Uh-uh.
Tarantino is the one who supplied his 1994 masterpiece with narrative and voice,
creating themes of redemption and chance. Avary only had cool ideas. Simply rent Killing
Zoe, a second-rate Reservoir Dogs that, while fun to watch, is
ultimately emptier than seashells.
The
Rules of Attraction is comprised of many stylish scenes, all nicely composed and enjoyable
to watch, but they never benefit the story - mainly because there isn’t one.
The film is a collage of cool sequences, all blended into an incoherent
narrative where every character imbibes alcohol and consumes drugs like
they’re healthier than Vitamin C. So while it’s fun to watch, anyone looking
for a plot will leave the theatre feeling unfulfilled.
An
opportunity for squeaky-clean actors like James Van Der Beek and Jessica Biel,
both who play wholesome young adults on the WB-television shows Dawson’s
Creek and 7th Heaven, to degrade their
cutesy public image, Rules of Attraction is free of morality and a
conscience. Perfect for the two young thespians, whose characters are so selfish
and void of emotions that it would be easier for audiences to sympathize with a
snail. And that is not an insult. Certainly Ellis, as well as Avary, intended to
present some characters as unemotional beasts. Needless to say, Van Der Beek and
Biel take full advantage of their characters’ cruelty, spending most of the
film between bed-sheets or guzzling booze.
Camden:
The perfect college for parties, mischief, sex and illegal substances. Even the
teachers, like one played by a stringy-haired Eric Stoltz, smoke pot and party
with students. Following three such students, who continually interact with each
other, the film is a showcase for their desires and shenanigans. The largest
player is Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), the campus dealer who only puts
himself in situations that benefit his physical needs. Sean pines for Lauren
(Shannyn Sossamon), a skateboarding beauty, because she is still a
virgin. But he himself has two admirers of his own, one being Paul Denton (Ian
Somerhalder), who craves Bateman because of his “slutty” looks, and the
second an unknown female who sends him letters filled with glitter and love
vows.
The
“Acts” are marked by parties, such as “The End of the World Party”, the
“Pre-Saturday Night Party”, and the “Dressed to Get Screwed Party”.
Classes are never a factor, but obviously Rules isn’t concerned with
its characters’ GPA. What we get during each party are episodes. A freshman
overdoses on ecstasy and must be rushed to the emergency room. The coked-out
dealer wants his money from a peddler. Parents take their drunken sons out to
dinner. Every episode is squeezed to the utmost level of insanity. It’s as
though Avary cannot be satisfied until each situation is pushed to the limit.
Opening
in a prologue, like all of the Avary-Tarantino-(Robert)Rodriguez films, Rules
starts off with the three main characters all in low conditions, then rewinds
(literally) to show how they wound up in such ugly situations. Thing is, neither
Sean, Lauren, nor Paul matter; we care about them as much as we care about the
many supporting characters, like Lauren’s coke-snorting roommate, Lara
(Jessica Biel). Hell, Fred Savage's cameo as a dope-shooting slacker is more
amusing than all of Camden’s student body.
Being as Avary is such a film buff, rest assured there are many movie references. He even gives his own Killing Zoe a shout-out in Rules’ opening scene. As interesting as his concepts are, Avary should consider honing his structuring skills. There are even scenes that hold such little relevance to the main characters’ lives, most notably a graphic bathtub suicide, we’re left to wonder why Avary never edited them with his Final Cut 2 program. The only reason such scenes remain is out of the director’s desperation to shock. I would have been just as shocked were Avary able to direct a coherent film.
GRADE: C
-Copyright
2002 by Shaun Sages