THE RULES OF ATTRACTION

Roger Avary’s floridly startling adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ 1987 novel brings the author’s glibly corrosive vision of elite college thrill seekers to life in a way that can’t be dismissed. Avary plots out every scene with voyeuristic ingenuity, using split screen and reverse motion to create a world in which time is racing forward yet standing still: the eternal present tense of days and nights lived in the zombie pleasure zone. James Van Der Beek, as a slit-eyed dorm stud, proves that he can be an actor of cruel force.