This article offers an interpretation of Choderlos de Laclos' (1782) epistolary novel Dangerous Liaisons, analysing Stephen Frears' film adaptation of it. Absent from the book, a key scene in the film brings together the Marquise de Merteuil, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Présidente de Tourvel in a single space. Two studies are then conducted in parallel: one on the technical means used by cinema to represent the complexity of their relationships, with particular attention paid to facial expressions and the subtle exchange of glances. The other elucidates the relationship each of the protagonists has with love, seduction and power. The passive attitude that leads Tourvel to a quasi-mystical love contrasts sharply with Merteuil's narcissistic rage. The latter's perpetual quest for control clashes with Valmont's unprecedented experience, who, deeply shaken, leaves their perverse carrousel to experience his first true love.