Forget the much-touted final scene, where she's wiping powder from her face...for me the scene that says it all is the scene where she finds out Valmont is dead and begins to tear at her own skin. Does it GET much better than that?
One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
-The Bard of course
for me
*all right*
*war*
--- me is scared!
I agree! Glenn Close produced two of the definitive "villan" performances ever and was deprived of Oscars for both! The War scene was spine-chilling! All those who think Glenn is amazing raise your hand *shoves both hands in the air*
shareI loved her speech about how she "invented herself" and that she'd sit and smile at the dinner table while stabbing the back of her hand with a fork under the dinner table. She has excellent "one-liners" regarding the role of women in society. I also love how she'd snicker or roll her eyes behind the back of Madame de Volanges. Glenn Close was absolutely perfect in this role.
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*raises hands and finds some other people to raise their hands too even though they have no idea what was going on*
That was an amazing performance, I show this film to all of my friends who remember her only as Cruella DeVille (i'm 13 so they wouldn't get much of a chance to see this)
This is honestly one of my favourite film, and my favourite Glenn Close film.
"Not everything worth knowing can be taught"-Oscar Wilde
I agree! Glenn Close produced two of the definitive "villan" performances ever and was deprived of Oscars for both!
Glenn Close is sublime in this role and it's one of the most memorable acts in the film history. I agree, the scene she learns Valmont's death.. Stunning!
shareAmazing! The scene at the end when losses it after learning of Valmonts death. Everyone had been so restrained and refined up to that moment even when they argue, but there she just goes mad. It was such a release of emotion, goosebumps!
There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.
I agree, it was a powerful, emotional scene
shareOne scene that nobody mentioned that I found to be the best of all was when she was leaving the theatre after being boo'd. she tried to keep her head up, but stumbled on her way out. i found it perfect, and years later, i saw her interviewed on Oprah and she (Close) said it was the most difficult and challenging scene she had done in her whole career. yes glenn close was great and i would not have been upset at all if she had won for this role, but the person who DID win that year, Jodie Foster in "the accused" is no slacker herself. She also beat out Meryl Streep. What does stink is that Glenn has never won for anything, and she deserves to for her body of work thus far.
shareThat was also one of my favorite scenes, another scene I loved is when she and Valmont were arguing and he says, "A single word is all that is needed." she smiles and says, "alright...war..." the transition of that smile to the look on her face as she walks out of the room...brilliant.
"A mental mind f_u_c_k can be nice."-Frank-N-furter
OMG she was SO good. Swear to god, she is so underrated, no-one even remembered her in that film. She makes everything she does look so easy, when I bet that if any of us attempted, we'd fall flat on our asses. Real modern woman. If I could ever wish for a role, I'd wish to play the Marquise, but ONLY if I could do it anywhere near as effortlessly as she did. Oscar robbage indeed!
shareGlenn Close was the best female villain in movie history! She was gorgeous, cruel and can manipulate everyone with subtility at the same time! She certainly deserved an Oscar in 1989.
But Dangerous Liaisons, Stephen Frears, John Malkovitch, Michele Pfeiffer didn't win neither. The winners this year were Rain Man ans Dustin Hoffman. Sad isn't it? Maybe it's because Stephen Frears is British.
Glenn Close as the Marquise de Merteuil was one of the greatest performances in cinema history. How she didn't win an Oscar for this delicious piece of work is a travesty. Now I'm not knocking Jodie Foster because I respect Jodie as an actress and she did very strong work herself in The Accused; at least Glenn lost out to strong competition this year, unlike losing to Cher for Moonstruck the previous year! But she really should have won in 1988. She was cruel, seductive, manipulative, witty and cold as ice. A subtly nuanced and textured portrait of pure villainy that has stood the test of time better than any other female performance of that year. That scene at the end where she brutally wipes off her war paint at her dressing-room mirror, full of raging self-disgust, is one of the most magnificent pieces of acting I've seen in any film.
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This is the movie that made me LOVE Glenn Close and 17 years later I STILL watch anything that she is in. I remember that Oscar night and I also remember me throwing a pillow at the screen when she lost. (I've secretly resented Jodie Foster ever since) ;-)
I love all the scenes others have mentioned, but I would like to add two more. The scene when Valmont tells her about his conquest of Torvel and there is a close up of her face. You can see it change from wicked delight to fear as she realizes that Valmont is in love with Torvel. It's a very subtle moment, but it is SO powerful.
Another scene I love is when she is talking to Cecile about marriage and sex and how even the least accommodating husband is less trouble than a mother.
Overall, I think it is one of the smartest scripts written. At least it received a well-deserved Oscar for Best Screenplay.
And don't be too sad about her not getting the Oscar, she does have three Tonys. :-)
I agree, she is SO good in this film as she is in most of the films she has appeared in! The scene where she is screaming and going mental after finding out about the death is fantastic. What a great actress!
shareGlenn Close was nothing but extrodinary in this role. I'd like to add one more subtle scene, no longer than a couple of seconds long that shows Ms. Close's subperb ability. This is the scene where she recieves Cecile's letter about Valmont's 'violation' over her. When Glenn Close lowers the letter and reveals her face, the look is priceless... Even when I first saw the movie, I noticed how incrediblly accurate a reaction like this would be.
shareClose's performance in this film really does belong in the Great Performances Hall of Fame. Purely classic. Every emotion, every nuance is played with sublime perfection. She really does BECOME this woman, showing us all facets of her complicated personality.
For Connie n Raymond Marble, it was the beginning of the end!
I have seen the movie "Moonstruck" over and over again and I CANNOT see what the Academy Awards judges saw in Cher that they didn't see in Glenn Close's performance.
Had the Academy Awards given the Oscar to an actress based on the ACTING, Glenn Close would have taken the statue, not Cher. That's just my opinion.
Since when does the Academy give Oscars based on performances? Every year there is at least one winner who was the "it" person of the moment, had the publicity machine in their corner and walks away with the award. The performance becomes secondary to the celebrity.
Look at 1950 when Judy Holliday won for "Born Yesterday" against two screen legends both giving their finest performance (Bette Davis for "All About Eve" and Gloria Swanson for "Sunset Boulevard"). Not to say that Judy wasn't great, but come on!!!
Or 1993 when Marisa Tomei beat out 4 great performances from Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave and Judy Davis. Again, I am not saying that Marisa wasn't great, but could anyone honestly say she was MORE deserving than the others?
I could go on and on, but I'll spare you anymore of my perceived slights by the Oscars.
I agree. However it just seemed SO obvious who had the better role that year, that Glen Close should have taken it.
shareThat's what sucks sometimes about Hollywood in general. Some years you get all five nominees in great movies with once in a lifetime performances, then you get years like this year; ie. mediocre. If the movie came out this year, she'd take the Oscar with ease. But it didn't. I feel for her, but that's Hollywood.
As a side not: I loved Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny". One of my all time favorite characters. She was very, very, good. Whether or not she deserved the Oscar over others in that year I don't know, but I think the problem people had was the role itself. Not her performance. People like Oscars to go for serious roles. Not comedic, sassy, Brooklinites. I thought that she was great and I'm glad she got it.
OH. And another thing: We never know how the voting went. How many winners won by a single vote, or how many lost by a single vote is something the public will never know.
i have always found this to be her greatest performance and one of my all-time favourites, and she DEFINATELY should have gotten an oscar.
however, i honestly thought that she would have had a better chance with "101 dalmations" just because she was so unrecogniseable in the role. the characterisation was just perfect, much more-so than meryl streeps "devil wears prada" which actually received a nominated as a lead role despite it being a supporting role.
"they should give nicole kidman an oscar for being able to show any emotion after THAT much botox".
A terrific performance indeed. You could just tell that Glenn relished her role and it is always satisfying to watch an actor who is enthusiastic about that. I found her subtle moments to be the best (like the cynical smile she gives under hat as she steps out of her carriage to meet Madame de Volanges).
shareI think both Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer should have won an oscar for their outstanding performances.
shareI'm sorry but Close in FATAL ATRRACTION is so over the top it would bring someone like her character back to sanity to watch it. Close I'm sure is genius on the stage...unfortunately she brings that stage acting style to her films and, IMO, that is not a good thing.
I will admit DANGEROUS LIAISONS is one of her better performances...still she's over the top and maybe afterall it works for this project...but not many of her others.
Kevin Spacey & Annette Bening are in the same camp for me...way too much acting for the stage done on the screen!
I agree. I loved the scene where Valmont challenges her and she says "Alright. War". God that was great acting. Best performance in the film.
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