Prime Video’s spineless TV remake fails to manipulate us into liking it

The original Cruel intentionsan adaptation of the 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuseswas one of my most memorable movies growing up. It was sadistic, had sexual tension, masterful manipulation, villainous half-brothers and a small dash of romance. Top Videos Cruel intentions
The series, developed by Phoebe Fisher and Sara Goodman, attempts to replicate what made the 1999 film so memorable (and quotable), but smartly goes its own less merciless path and adds new elements. The protagonists and their objectives are more or less the same, but there is less excitement and danger in the execution.

The manipulation is still there, but the blatant nastiness of the original has been eliminated. The college setting and focus on Greek life on campus give the series a boost and the changes in characters’ stories, names and dynamics – like that between Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook), the president of Delta Phi Pi, and Annie Grover ( Savannah Lee Smith), daughter of the Vice President of the United States – creates some stories that should be more interesting than we actually get.

Cruel Intentions keeps all the stories linked

But there is much less threat in execution

All said, Cruel intentions it has little of the wild spirit that made the film so deliciously compelling, but beyond the familiar conceit – for Caroline’s half-brother, Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess), to seduce Annie so he can finally sleep with Caroline – the two couldn’t be more different. Other characters – like Sara Silva’s fast-talking, anxiety-ridden Cece Carroway, Caroline’s right-hand man and Cruel intentions‘MVP – remain in the outer circle, but are no less interesting and active in their own stories.

What I appreciated about the show is how each subplot is tied to the overarching narrative, no matter how small it may seem. Caroline is obsessed with maintaining Delta Phi Pi status and that means using everyone else as chess pieces in her game to ensure her goal is achieved. We have to step back to appreciate the scope of Caroline’s work. Annie is the real problem here. If she pledges Delta Phi Pi, the university, which is investigating them and Lucien’s fraternity after a hazing incident gone wrong the previous year, will leave them alone.

Cece’s relationship with Professor Chadwick (Sean Patrick Thomas) and campus activist Beatrice Worth’s (Brooke Lena Johnson) attempts to take down Caroline are all branches of the same narrative tree. Was I entertained by all this? Only occasionally. Mostly, though, I wanted more intrigue and threat in the stories. They don’t go far enough and there is a strange hesitation. If there is a second season, it must dive headlong into the chaos and cruelty of its characters to work. Some of this is starting to take shape towards the end of the first season, but I can’t say I’m invested in what happens.

Cruel intentions are afraid of their own power

The series tiptoes around its cruelty rather than delving into it

The series teases us with sex, tension, and disturbing drama, but doesn’t fully deliver on any of them. There are risks, but the effects are not felt. If I compared Cruel intentions to another university program like Tell me liesfalls short of his manipulative tendencies and twisted darkness. The first knows how to keep us trapped in insidious interpersonal relationships and secrets with genuine risks, while Cruel intentions there are only a few moments where the heightened drama and character decisions reach their potential.

The characters may be idiots, but I don’t think I was ever afraid of them or what they could do. To that end, Cruel intentions plays it safe; I’m afraid of getting too dirty. Maybe it’s because her tone favors keeping things light, despite Caroline and Lucien’s actions. At one point, Lucien’s sex tapes are leaked to the school and the consequences are barely felt. University politics are more of the central focus, which leaves Caroline and Lucien’s relationship – however twisted it may be – weaker in the grand scheme of things.

The show takes a while to start. It often feels like there’s a lot going on, but the stories aren’t overly complex and it’s easy to lose focus considering how extensive they are. It’s as if Cruel intentions necessary to prolong certain moments to fill time. Things get better in episode three, but I wasn’t completely locked in at any point in the season. This indicates a lack of compelling material and rich character dynamics. And while the actors are serviceable, the protagonists lack the appropriate arrogance necessary to convince us of their characters’ villainy.

The Prime Video series draws its knives, but they are not very sharp. There’s a chance the show would have worked well on its own merits, but titling it after the deliciously seductive and manipulative feast that was the 1999 film makes the Cruel intentions series a disservice. The talent, the theatricality, the boldness are missing here. The show has all the ingredients that would make it obsession-worthy, but it’s too timid to make much of an impact.

All 8 episodes of Cruel intentions are available to stream on Prime Video on November 21st.