The Rules of Attraction (2002)

	Directed by: Roger Avary	COUNTRY USA/Germany GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE The Rules of Attraction RUNNING TIME 110 minutes
	Produced by: Greg Shapiro
	Written by (based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis): Roger Avary

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Sean Bateman	James Van Der Beek
Lauren Hynde	Shannyn Sossamon
Paul Denton	Ian Somerhalder
Lara Holleran	Jessica Biel	½
Victor Johnson	Kip Pardue	-
Rupert Guest	Clifton Collins, Jr.
Mitchell Allen	Thomas Ian Nicholas	-
Mrs. Eve Denton	Faye Dunaway	-
Mr. Lance Lawson	Eric Stoltz	-
Marc	Fred Savage	-
Mimi Jared	Swoosie Kurtz	-

Review

Bret Easton Ellis' second novel was brought to life vividly and with a remarkable sense of ingenuity by Roger Avary in this criminally underestimated gem from 2002. The opening is a most sophisticated motion of some of the most unsophisticated aspects of college life, as Avary presents us with his three protagonists: the insensitive but not heartless Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), the toughened dreamer Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), and Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder), a semi-closeted homosexual who is attracted to Bateman – and works as an obvious stand-in for Ellis. Roger Avary's narrative style is a quilt of vignettes, music video clips, and reverse motion which despite being an obvious product of its time, transcends into an artistic achievement which fits brilliantly in with Ellis' delightfully superficial and vigorous characters – a rare combination, by the way. Unfortunately for the film's contemporary success and subsequent legacy, The Rules of Attraction was received and reviewed as just another teen comedy upon release, when its wonderful alternation between pessimistic and peppy, between plain and paradoxical should have immediately lifted it to a rightful status as the noteworthy and entertaining piece that it actually is.