Throwback Thursday: A look back at Cruel Intentions’ film soundtrack

The movie “Cruel Intentions”, an American teen romantic drama motion picture, released in 1999, became a hit and cult movie for the 90’s young generation like myself, by which time I was in my early 20’s. The film was directed by Roger Kumble and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair, 4 actors who were emerging in the cinema industry. In my humble opinion, the Cruel Intentions’ movie soundtrack is one of the best 90’s film soundtracks ever. The playlist has great names from the alternative music scene of the 90’s such as Fatboy Slim, Placebo, Blur and The Verve. The film’s soundtrack peaked at #60 position on the Billboard chart. The lead track for the film was “Bitter Sweet Symphony” plays by rock band The Verve.

The storyline is centred on Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont, two young seductive and manipulative step-siblings. Kathryn makes a bet with Sebastian: Sebastian must deflower Annette, daughter of the headmaster at their school, before the end of summer break.

Annette has decided that she would wait until love and marriage to sleep with a man. If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian’s vintage 1959 Jaguar Roadster. If Sebastian wins, he gets Kathryn, the only girl he knows he’ll never have.

Also in play is Cecile, a naïve girl whose mother had enlisted Kathryn to help her fit in at her new school. However, Kathryn (with Sebastian’s help) plans to ruin Cecile’s reputation as revenge on Kat’s ex-boyfriend, who left her for Cecile. Kathryn and Sebastian’s plan didn’t work the way they had expected and they had to confront their own nightmares.

The film is an adaptation of the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in 1782.