The Rules of Attraction

A film set at an American college. The narrative starts in the middle of a sentence and rewinds. Then the stories of three students open separately: Sean, who deals drugs, Lauren, who receives letters without knowing who wrote them, and Paul, who stands between the two. All three want each other and none wants the right person. Parties, affairs and debts tangle together on campus. The form matters as much as the content: split screen, scenes running backwards, the same event repeated from different people, and at one point a speeded-up section set in Europe. The source is Bret Easton Ellis's novel. Sean's surname is Bateman and he is the brother of a character from another of the author's books; the film makes the link openly. James Van Der Beek plays Sean; that a young man popular on television at the time took this part is one of the surprising things about it. Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder and Jessica Biel are in the cast. Roger Avary directed. The film was not well received on release and found its audience later. An interesting production for anyone who likes formal play and cold satire. Before you watch, know this: it shows suicide, assault and drug use directly and tries to make nobody likeable.