"Welcome to the delicious hell that is high society," beckons the trailer for "The Seduction," HBO Max's steamy new French-language drama inspired by "Dangerous Liaisons." And indeed, when most of us last saw the Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, she was in her own private hell, wiping white powder off her tear-stained face. This 18th-century Parisian socialite, memorably played by Glenn Close in the 1988 Stephen Frears movie, was ruined every which way — schemes exposed, reputation in tatters, shamed and booed at the opera. Well, "The Seduction" has something to say about her story — or at least, her backstory. The latest adaptation of the 1782 epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos, somewhere between a prequel and a remake, retains much of the main story but takes a radical detour into the female gaze. In other words, "it's the #MeToo of the 18th century," says director Jessica Palud, of the six-episode miniseries that launches Friday. So how does one make a #MeToo version of a society where men had all the power — and the swords, too? Where the only weapons available to women were their feminine wiles? The show, an origin story for Isabelle (its title in French is simply "Merteuil"), accomplishes this partly by elevating a minor character, the elderly aunt named Rosemonde, into a powerful figure played by Diane Kruger. Kruger's wealthy and independent Rosemonde forms a surprising alliance with young Isabelle (Anamaria Vartolomei) as the two women seek to navigate a repressive Parisian society and "reverse the codes," as Palud puts it, becoming masters of their own destiny. Also playing major roles are Vincent Lacoste as Valmont (Rosemonde's nephew), stepping into the devious shoes of John Malkovich from the Frears film, and Lucas Bravo (yes,... Read More