The Rules of Attraction

Name: The Rules of Attraction
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Romance
Released: October 11, 2002
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 50
Cast: Ian Somerhalder, James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon

2002

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Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 49 Ratings

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5.3

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5.3	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 49 Ratings

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The Rules Of Attraction

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Movie Details & Credits

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: October 11, 2002 | NC-17

Starring: Ian Somerhalder, James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon

Summary: Set at an affluent New England liberal arts college, this film takes a satiric look at an emerging sexual triangle.

Director: Roger Avary

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Romance

Rating: NC-17

Runtime: 110 min

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman

The cast is a pitch-perfect assemblage of pretty young things, but James Van Der Beek, as a slit-eyed dorm stud, proves that he can be an actor of cruel force. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

Propelled by a fine Tomandandy score and a savvy assortment of seductive new-wave hits, Attraction is top-notch trash, a guilty pleasure designed for the decadent 14-year-old in everyone. Read full review

J.R. Jones

Actually I quite enjoyed the film -- but how do I get rid of this awful discharge? Read full review

Carrie Rickey

Although it would be understatement to call their characters unsympathetic, Van Der Beek and Sossamon play their parts with such doomed passion that they have some affecting moments. Read full review

Sean Axmaker

Opens on a display of humiliation and human degradation at its worst and then rewinds, like a video surfer zipping back to replay a favorite scene, to the nominal beginning of the spiral. Read full review

Todd Levin

The big screen has a very difficult time capturing the talent of James Van Der Beek - literally. The aspect ratio of projected film simply cannot accommodate the full breadth of his enormous melon head. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Ugh. The Rules of Attraction is the kind of movie that leaves vague impressions and a nasty aftertaste. Read full review

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User Reviews

RicardoR.

Oct 31, 2005

This as got to be one of the most underrated movies of all time. Critics say it's superficial, well guess what? Youth IS Superficial, and the american youth is one of most superficial on the planet, so this movie is nothing more than a loyal portrait of how college life is nowadays. This as got to be one of the most underrated movies of all time. Critics say it's superficial, well guess what? Youth IS Superficial, and the american youth is one of most superficial on the planet, so this movie is nothing more than a loyal portrait of how college life is nowadays. Also the movie is extremely well directed in a sense that's totally innovative!… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful

ChelseaE.

Apr 8, 2008

There is only one word that can properly portray this movie; real. The reality of the movie is almost disturbing. There is an undeniable college energy about it. Being a college student, I can completely relate to most of the characters and their actions. It

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JohnF.

Nov 17, 2005

A tough, forcefully abrasive adaptation of a flawed (and decidedly forgettable) Bret Easton Ellis novel? Roger Avery didn't do himself any favours in following up the empty (and ugly, and flat) Killing Zoe, but has gone on to inadvertantly create one of the most important films of this A tough, forcefully abrasive adaptation of a flawed (and decidedly forgettable) Bret Easton Ellis novel? Roger Avery didn't do himself any favours in following up the empty (and ugly, and flat) Killing Zoe, but has gone on to inadvertantly create one of the most important films of this past decade. This is an angry, hugely inventive dissection, and one that mercilessly attacks (like all of the very best satire) EVERYBODY. Its nihilistic viewpoint is raw, but not without heart; the final, artfully composed twenty minutes wring the heart whilst also throwing arms in the air in utter disillusion. We, as a species, are fucked... but how did we let it come to this? The dearth of religion? The church of the self? Avary suggests nothing, merely letting us bathe in the horror of our own complicity. Much as I loathe many of this movie's supporters, it is almost inarguable that this is a film that's going to be avidly devoured for decades to come.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

dundo

May 20, 2023

7 stars
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DaneYoussef

Aug 6, 2012

"IF THIS IS THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE... CONSIDER TRADE SCHOOL"

by Dane Youssef Roger Avary's "THE RULES OF ATTRACTION" is a look at the "experimentation" of college life. Alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide and sexual escapades. That's not to say that the movie is all about--oh wait, it pretty"IF THIS IS THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE... CONSIDER TRADE SCHOOL"

by Dane Youssef Roger Avary's "THE RULES OF ATTRACTION" is a look at the "experimentation" of college life. Alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide and sexual escapades. That's not to say that the movie is all about--oh wait, it pretty much is. There are a few moments of outside "experimentation," but it is mostly an orgy party. This is the kind of film Avary is best at. He showed this with his style and energy in movies like "Killing Zoe" and "Pulp Fiction." He's been gone for about a decade working on this and has claimed that the "unfilmable" novels by Brett Eastern Ellis ("American Psycho" and "Less Than Zero") had been horrid adaptations because they strip Ellis's storytelling style (told through accounts of multiple narrators giving their fuzzy testimonies). In this new film, Avary tries to get that confused feeling down with different style techniques: rewind, fast-foreword, split-screen and multiple narratives. It sometimes works and it sometimes doesn't. Perhaps this movie directed more like Christopher Nolan's "Following" and "Memento" and Steven Soderberg's "Full Frontal" instead of Fisher Steven's "Just A Kiss." The performances are pretty strong, the best from James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek," "Varsity Blues") playing the lecherous and sexually and neurotically charged Sean who's pastimes include anonymous sex and the use of every narcotic known to man. He has a creepy glare made famous from most Stanley Kubrick films and a sardonic and uncaring nature. An "emotional vampire" he calls himself. Shannyn Sossamon plays a college student who has eyes for her boyfriend, Victor (Kip Pardue) and is saving her virginity for him. She looks at gruesome books about STD's and other vaginal diseases to keep herself out of having sex. What Lauren doesn't know is that Victor is in Europe and perhaps having sex with with the entire Continent. He narrates a capsule summary of his incredible escapades and is one of the best sequences in the movie. Poor Lauren. She plans to lose her virginity to Victor, but as we see in the movie in the opening, that doesn't quite pan out. Ian Somerhalder, model and all-around pretty boy plays the now openly-gay Paul who has eyes for Sean and tries to get him to succumb to his side. In the original novel by Ellis, Sean is a bisexual who sleeps with Paul. In the film, the two are seen kissing and making out in Sean's room. But is it real or is it all in Paul's head? Jessica Biel ("7th Heaven") plays Laura's promiscuous roommate who's libido is running non-stop and drug intake is piling up. She gets a nosebleed ("rusty pipes") and sleeps with the men important to Lauren. Eric Stoltz, Faye Dunaway and Swoozie Kurtz play the only adults in the movie who are really no better than the kids. A bit of Mr. Avary's creative license kicks in here (Stoltz's foppish teacher, Mr. Lawson) was not in the original novel. He states he cannot deflower Ms. Hyde because he is married with children and she is an undergraduate. But oral doesn't count, right Mr. President? Avary's technique sometimes works with the opening's bungee-jumping narrative, as well as a split-screen shot approach showing how two characters on completely different paths walking along and minding their own business meet up at the same location. And once a character's shades come off, the shot completes--indicating love at first sight. Really nice, Rog. And the back-packing trip to Europe with the mysterious Victor who hosts and stars in this orgy of FF>. Some characters are kinda fun, but it feels too much like Avary is indulging himself too much to dig a little deeper into these characters. In Ellis' books, he lets us get inside the characters. Right into their heads in a way we did in "Memento." A more style like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and insider feel like "Memento" is kind of the way this thing works--we're kind of only getting their version. Still, Avary is a stylist first and foremost. He gave "PF" and "KZ" it's hyper-kinetic juice. So it's not a bad movie, not at all. It's commendable, if not a lot more. "Rules of Attraction" is worth a look any way you cut it. --Hoping There's Hope, Dane Youssef… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Sosmooth1982

Jan 9, 2023

Kind of a dumb movie. Just a guy telling his story of what happened to him one night at a party. It's a interesting movie but dumb.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Disco_Stew

Oct 14, 2005

Rules Of Attraction is by far the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life, I am still recovering from it.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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