Cruel Intentions

An original adaptation of Les Liaisons dangereuses with no race/gender swaps of established characters.

Kathryn is a scheming, manipulative female lead but she is a villain, not a flawless girlboss, and the film doesn't push a 'men are the problem' message.

• Kathryn manipulates everyone around her including Sebastian

A brief same-sex kiss scene and some bisexual flirtation, but it's used as part of the manipulation rather than a central storyline.

• Kathryn instructs Cecile in kissing
• Sebastian's blackmail involving sexual schemes

Late-90s teen ensemble cast that fits its setting with no quota-driven casting.

A salacious teen melodrama about cruelty and seduction with no political sermonizing.

No framing of masculinity, whiteness, or the West as villainous; the villainy is personal and amoral.

A modernized teen update of a classic novel; changes are creative/setting-based, not identity-driven.

• Transposes 18th-century French aristocrats to 1990s Manhattan prep schoolers