The Rules of Attraction (film)

The Rules of Attraction (2002) is a film based on the novel The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis. It was directed by Roger Avary and stars James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, and Kip Pardue.

Plot

The film takes place at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts school somewhere in New England.

In the opening sequence, we are introduced to the three main characters – Lauren (Sossamon), Paul (Somerhalder), and Sean (Van Der Beek), in turn. They are three college students at an "End of the World" party, and although they don't interact at the party, they share a certain apathy about the situations they end up in. Lauren, previously a virgin, is raped, Paul is gay bashed, and Sean recalls (in the third person), "he couldn't remember the last time he had sex sober". After the introduction of each character, time moves backwards until we meet the next character. Essentially we observe the party from three different points of view.

The story then jumps back in time, and for the remainder of the film we follow the lives of the characters and learn how they came to know each other. Throughout the film, the characters (Sean in particular) exude somewhat of an indifference toward the people and events around them. For example, despite being set at a college, not one of the characters is ever shown attending a class.

Characters

• Sean – A drug dealer that decides he is in love with Lauren. He eventually sleeps with her roommate, Lara (Biel), although he doesn't feel that this makes him unfaithful – "I only slept with her cause I'm in love with you."

• Lauren – A virgin who is saving herself for Victor (Pardue), her ex-boyfriend, who is traveling through Europe. She develops feelings for Sean which dissipate when she discovers him in bed with her roommate.

• Paul – An ex-boyfriend of Lauren's who has since become gay. He falls in love with Sean, who eventually rejects him.

• Lara – Lauren's sexually promiscuous roommate, who, after sleeping with Sean, ends up with Victor.

• Victor – Lauren's ex-boyfriend who, upon returning to school from his trip to Europe, cannot remember who she is

Technical data

• writing credits: Roger Avary
• music: tomandandy
• runtime: 110 minutes
• sound: Dolby Digital
• aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1
• release date: October 11, 2002 (USA)
• budget: $4,000,000
• total gross (USA): $6,532,619
• overseas gross: $5,273,298
• distributor: Lions Gate
• MPAA rating: R (edited from original NC-17 version)

External links

• The Rules of Attraction at the Internet Movie Database