Merteuil: should we get caught up in these new Liaisons Dangereuses? (critical)

Sensual and poisonous, this new serial variation replays the 1782 novel by placing young Isabelle at the center of the game, weaving around her the little libertine and perverse world of the court of Louis XV. Or how to survive by manipulating others. A classic readapted with taste.

We know the story. From Jeanne Moreau at Roger Vadim to Glenn Close at Stephen Frears, to Sarah Michelle Gellar in a teenage posh version — generations of actresses have slipped their silk gloves on the character of Isabelle de Merteuil. So when HBO announces a new rereading of the scandalous novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, it feels a bit like a repetition. Was it really necessary?

Fortunately, this new version of Merteuil has ideas. Far from being content to revisit the perverse game between Merteuil and Valmont, Jean-Baptiste Delafon takes the novel head on and turns the table. He does not modernize the work, he tears it from its pedestal to refocus it around a single axis: Isabelle. Its trajectory. Its rocker. How to become the heroine of your own life… by ruining that of others. Isabelle is a naive orphan, without fortune, who falls into the trap of the Viscount de Valmont, who will steal her virginity. Deception is cruel. But it has the merit of waking up the young girl and revealing to her the violence of a world which leaves no space for women, except that which they extract thanks to their charms. This is what the fragile ingénue will learn through contact with a fading beauty (Diane Kruger), who hopes to use her to retain a little power.

In this little human theater, Anamaria Vartolomei bursts onto the screen, a mixture of steel and silk. Facing her, Vincent Lacoste composes a tender, seductive Valmont, entangled in his own shenanigans. Their pas de deux in the libertine alcoves and Louis XV salons has everything of poisonous passion, made impossible by the moment and by the forces around them. Among them, Lucas Bravo, odious as ever as Count de Gercourt: the rather smooth, handsome guy from Emily in Paris discovers here a spectacular talent for playing court bastards. All the other characters from Laclos’ novel are there: Madame de Tourvel (Noée Abita), Cécile de Volanges (Fantine Harduin)… The series replays the text with mischief, while, visually, Jessica Palud transforms each scene into a sensual tableau, lit by candles, where bodies brush against each other and challenge each other. It’s sensual, sometimes downright naughty, but never vulgar. Certainly, the dialogues assume a very 18th century style, sometimes bombastic and a little boring. It’s very written, almost theatrical. A little excess of obsolescence, which, paradoxically, also contributes to the pleasure.

Merteuil, in 6 episodes, to watch on HBO Max since November 14, 2025