Ray Pride

I wish I'd seen a finished version or, better yet, the unexpurgated, pre-MPAA edition of Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel of romantic longing on a New England college campus. Deeply sad, steeped in sorrow, "The Rules of Attraction" charts a romantic triangle of post-adolescents smart enough to recognize the implausibility of their longing, but still dumb enough to simmer in it. Some of Avary's time-warping devices are reminiscent of those of his former writing partner Quentin Tarantino, yet he seems to be getting at something darker. Superficially, it's all fuck-you games with these kids, but beneath it all, they subscribe to the folly of believing that we are ever anything but alone. tomandandy's restless, relentless underscore helps, as quietly urgent as feathery, smothering snow. The actors who play the students willing to degrade themselves for carnal obsession include James van der Beek (tuning in Jack Nicholson's "The Shining" frequency) and Shannyn Sossamon as a vital gamine. There are two scenes that are truly thrilling; one introduces someone we've only heard about with tremendous comic velocity; the other deepens Avary's penchant for rewinding time, allowing us to revisit a minor character whose damage, and beauty, would never otherwise have been glimpsed by many viewers. It's some kind of bruised masterpiece, I hope.

"Rules of Attraction" opens Friday. (2002-10-09)

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