I initially put off watching The Seduction (2025) aka Merteuil, the new-to-HBO but originally French TV series that’s another prequel to the Dangerous Liaisons story. Mostly because what I was seeing of the costumes was making me twitch: generally 18th-century stuff with lots of weird shortcuts and stupid changes. Having watched the first two episodes, I can say that the overall show was decent and the camera doesn’t linger on most of the stupid costume elements, so I was less annoyed than I expected. I can see where they’re going: general faux-18th century, rock and roll Valmont, blah blah yawn blah. Haven’t we done this to death yet?
I kind of want to nitpick the plot and characters, because several bits seem so off from what I remember of the epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos. For example, the Marquise de Merteuil’s origin story is now that she’s a poor convent girl who is seduced and ditched by Valmont and vows to get revenge; she somehow manages to get the Marquis de Merteuil to marry her by presumably showing up on his doorstep without a cent in hand? And Madame de Rosemonde (Valmont’s aunt) is now the evil seductress character who leads Merteuil into her web. But I really do need to reread the novel, in case my memory of the 1988 film adaptation has colored things too much. Feel free to rant more accurately in the contents!
The novel was published in 1782 and seems to be set contemporary, i.e., shortly before that date (the letters are all dated things like “Paris, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld)
Apparently a period-ish historical mishmash is something that hasn’t been done before (/sarcasm), because director Jessica Palud told Variety,
“I wanted to try to do something that we hadn’t seen visually, whether it be period films. I had a film in mind, ‘Barry Lyndon,’ but you can’t do that in a series because in a series, you have to have laughter, you have to have music, and lots of modern elements. The pop aspect of Marie-Antoinette had already been done, and that’s not what I wanted to do at all. We worked a lot with Pascaline Chauvelle, the costume designer, Florian Sanson, the production designer, and other key crew members to create a unique visual identity. We worked with lots of paintings and also photos. I wanted something elegant. It’s a very dialogue-heavy series, so there was no point in having everyone jumping around all over the place. So we played a lot on the looks and tried to work on a cinematic elegance while keeping something that could still look colorful and attractive.”
And according to an interview with costume designer Chavanne,
“We [the director and designer] both strongly wanted to modernize the 18th century… We wanted the actors to feel supported by the costumes, not constrained by them and to never have their movements hindered. In short, for them to forget the costumes, or rather, for the costumes to help them in their performance so they could naturally make them their own… What mattered most to me was conveying the power of the body in this interpretation of Laclos’ work. The period cuts are respected, but I made very free choices in terms of fabric and accessories. For instance, instead of using lace for sleeve ruffles (engageantes), I used silk tulles that flutter at the ends of the sleeves” (The Art Of Seduction).
I could show you some examples of 1778-83 fashion, but I’m not sure they’re terribly relevant:
Instead we should probably look at the painters Chavanne references in the interview linked above, including Fragonard, Watteau, and Boucher, who were all painting early and mid-18th century and usually focused on idealized images of romanticized peasants:
Here’s what we get on screen — sewn-in stomachers ABOUND:
They bothered to handsew that yellow dress of Kruger’s, which, why?
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There’s a focus on weird neckwear:
Including super chintzy necklaces:
Indeed a weird use of tulle:
Mishmash hair:
Chemise gowns as convent wear (huh?) but also lounging wear (ok):
Reasonable corsetry:
Merteuil gets married in an 1840s-style gown:
Rosemonde rocks an Edwardian dressing gown:
And this blue shirt exists, which, I don’t even know what to say, this is the stuff of nightmares:
Nonetheless, the camera doesn’t linger on most of these weird costume elements, so give it a whirl if you like!
Have you seen The Seduction? What’s your take?
Find this frock flick at:
Thanks for doing the hard work.
Almost good enough to snark!
Oh that blue shirt HAS to become a Snark Week meme!
Pass
Nice to see that Lucas Bravo (Gabriel, Emily in Paris) is getting other work.
I would have much rather him as Valmont than the Temu Frodo they cast.
LOLOLOL
Good grief, SEDUCTIVE RAKE (b) has Resting Vampire Face going on. Also, I’ll give them this, they definitely got a man with the right mix of posh, romantic and seedy in his face to convince as a late-Eighteenth century voluptuary (Though I can’t say that the plot as described interests me: showing la Merteuil as somebody who calmly traded in actual virtue for money, influence and a gilded reputation strikes me as nearer to the mark than any sort of ‘Innocent Corrupted’ arc).
Stealing “Resting Vampire Face” thx!
I wonder if you plan to watch Mozart/Mozart (if it releases in English). I think their costumes are also questionable, although for me, as someone not that into the period, could pass more than whatever a lot of these dresses are. However, knowing that this is the same team and costume designer as 2021’s Sisi, I wonder if they are just hiding the awful ones from the promotional pictures.
No doubt we’ll check it out!
The teaser was such a mess. Shitty costumes, 24/7 disheveled characters, the « lets make a feminist prequel on Merteuil » so cliché…
And you are right Mme de Rosemonde is supposed to be the wise, elderly friend of Mme de Tourvel who tries to dissuade her to fall in love with her nephew. She really embolies the virtuous, devout upper-class widow of the 18th Century. So much for devotion here!
Thank you for validating my memory!
Thanks I hate it. I just watched the 3 available episodes and I just hate it. The costumes are awful, I’m all for creativity but they are just boring, with a vague 18th century vibe, the makeup and hairdos are modern because the director says “It’s a modern take on a classic”, what’s with Valmont’s look? Full faux-romantic and not at all 18th century, save the leather coat-frock-thing that looks like a cheap Brotherhood of the Wolf cosplay.
And the way the book is adapted is awful. Merteuil is completely declawed and is as abrasive as a kitten, madame de Rosemonde is now the master manipulator but don’t worry, she loves sorority and helps Merteuil! Valmont is now a labrador boyfriend. The later plot to take revenge on Gercourt seems to have been written by 13-yo.
Merteuil in the novel is a complex character, that did horrible things that we condemn her for, and yet we can feel some empathy when she tells how awful it is to be a woman. The book is pretty clear about that and Laclos was a champion for women’s rights and education.
I can’t help but compare with Milady (2004). Milady was a somewhat free adaptation of the Three Musketeers, centered on Milady de Winter, the costumes are all over the place but a real choice is made (completely fantasy), some liberties in the plot and characters are made but they are quite nice (the relationship between Milady and her servant), the characters are true to the source material and Milady supports women’s wrongs! Merteuil (2025) is too afraid of a problematic or grey female lead.
“labrador boyfriend” hahha
The men all chose an Austin Powers costume for the Halloween party but forgot the glasses at home.