The Rules of Attraction

The Rules of Attraction is a 2002 black comedy-drama film written and directed by Roger Avary and based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1987 novel of the same title. The film was distributed by Lions Gate Films. The story follows three Camden College students who become entangled in a love triangle with a drug dealer, a virgin, and a bisexual classmate. It stars James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth, Kip Pardue, and Joel Michaely. The Rules of Attraction was produced by Kingsgate Films and Roger Avary Filmproduktion, and was released on October 11, 2002. It grossed $2.5 million in its opening weekend and $11.8 million worldwide, against a budget of $4 million. Though it received mixed reviews from critics upon its release in 2002, it has since been considered a cult classic. Plot Set in the fictional Camden College in New Hampshire, the film opens at the "End of the World" party, where students Lauren Hynde, Paul Denton, and Sean Bateman give apathetic interior monologues on their lives and briefly exchange glances with one another. Lauren, previously a virgin, takes a film student upstairs to have sex and passes out; she wakes to find herself being raped by a townie while the film student records it, and reflects on how she had planned to lose her virginity to Victor, her now ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, Paul, who is bisexual, tries to have sex with a jock, only to be bashed when the jock, deeply in the closet, rejects his advances. A bruised and beaten Sean is shown drinking a whole bottle of Jack Daniel's, tearing up a series of purple letters, before approaching and having sex with a blonde girl at the party. The plot then moves backwards several months to the beginning of the school year, and explores the love triangle between Lauren, Paul, and Sean. Misinterpreting Sean's willingness to spend time with him, Paul makes several advances, to which Sean is oblivious. Paul fantasizes about having sex with Sean while masturbating. Concurrently, Lauren also finds herself attracted to Sean despite saving her virginity for her traveling boyfriend, Victor. Sean reciprocates her feelings, and assumes the anonymous, purple love letters he has started receiving are from Lauren. Sean masturbates to reading these letters and fantasizes about Lauren.