The Rules of Attraction

What stands out first about The Rules of Attraction is the confidence with which Roger Avary establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Rules of Attraction asks James Van Der Beek and Ian Somerhalder to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Rules of Attraction is established with useful clarity: The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate. That direct approach lets The Rules of Attraction use its 1h 50m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence.

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The most useful technical choice in The Rules of Attraction is comic timing built around character, because it helps the audience understand both space and mood. Kingsgate Films frames The Rules of Attraction through comic timing built around character without letting surface finish replace character. Drawing on its United States background, The Rules of Attraction uses well judged reactions to give familiar material a more specific texture. Cinematography, sound and editing meet effectively in The Rules of Attraction whenever a sequence must feel large without losing its human scale.

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The Rules of Attraction finds additional purpose in its examination of embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Through the performance of James Van Der Beek, The Rules of Attraction makes that examination feel personal before it becomes broadly symbolic. The idea of Camden College repeatedly returns The Rules of Attraction to the cost behind its more visible developments. Roger Avary is most persuasive when The Rules of Attraction allows the theme to emerge from an uncomfortable choice rather than polished dialogue.

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James Van Der Beek gives The Rules of Attraction its most dependable performance, finding a clear emotional intention beneath the plot. Opposite James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder brings The Rules of Attraction a contrasting pace that prevents the central relationship from feeling flat. Shannyn Sossamon widens the ensemble of The Rules of Attraction through reactions that suggest a life beyond the immediate scene. Roger Avary serves the cast of The Rules of Attraction best when a look or pause is allowed to finish before the story moves on.

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The plot of The Rules of Attraction is built around the uneasy relationship between Camden College and the central character. For James Van Der Beek, that relationship gives The Rules of Attraction an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Bret Easton Ellis lets an important relationship reshape the direction of The Rules of Attraction in stages. Although the treatment of a difficult choice could be sharper, The Rules of Attraction never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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Roger Avary gives The Rules of Attraction a directorial line that is alive in individual scenes and uncertain between them from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of The Rules of Attraction is strongest when Roger Avary allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, The Rules of Attraction confirms that the cast and craft keep the experience watchable across most of the running time. A tighter version of The Rules of Attraction would address how too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.

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The Rules of Attraction ends as an uneven film with enough personality to remain interesting, especially for comedy fans who respond to personality and timing. What remains from The Rules of Attraction is the relationship between James Van Der Beek, comic timing built around character and Roger Avary's control of mood. The weakness that too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested narrows the impact of The Rules of Attraction without cancelling its better work. On balance, The Rules of Attraction gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.