A seductive Dangerous Liaisons remix, with feminist intentions

There are no heroes in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel of end-stage French aristocratic decadence.

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Its chief villain is Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, a master manipulator who exploits her former lover the Vicomte de Valmont's resurgent desire for her with a wager that dooms them both. As a teenage Fiona Apple dryly noted: "It's a sad, sad world when a girl will break a boy just because she can."

The Seduction, HBO Max's deliciously acted, baroquely libidinous yet sneakily substantive first Frenchlanguage series, fleshes out that world. Created by Jean-Baptiste Delafon and directed by Jessica Palud, it centers Merteuil, adding backstory that recasts her as a hurt woman fighting for the freedom men enjoy.