Warning: spoilers for The Seduction episode 2 ahead. Episode 2 also includes themes of abortion.
We're two episodes into The Seduction on HBO Max, and the Dangerous Liaisons prequel series is already feeling incredibly different from the story we thought we knew. Isabelle de Merteuil (Anamaria Vartolomei) has gone from vulnerable convent girl to one of the most powerful women in the French elite in the blink of an eye, and has brought a ton of drama along with her.
The tensions between the three of them leads to Isabelle trying to conceal her pregnancy, deciding to induce a miscarriage in episode 2. If you're familiar with Vartolomei's previous work, this might remind you of her most famous film to date – and when I asked her about it, there's one key difference.
'I wanted to play this a different way': Anamaria Vartolomei explains what Happening and The Seduction have in common
Back in 2021, Vartolomei had the starring role in 2021 French movie Happening, which told the story of Anne, a student who falls pregnant in 1963. Historically, this was another tumultuous time for France's abortion rights, something which only became constitutionally protected last year.
"I was obviously thinking about Happening, but I didn't want to be unconsciously driven to do the same thing [in The Seduction] as I did then," she tells me. "I wanted to show that there are as many types of abortions as there are women. So I wanted to play it in a different way, and Jessica [Palud] took me in another direction.
"It was challenging, it's a hard scene. It's very intense, and how it develops is not easy to play. But I felt very confident also, maybe because I'd done it before on screen. I hope I've managed to do it differently this time, though."
Episode 2 of The Seduction is heart-stopping and arresting for this very reason, and Isabelle's solitary pain is something that takes your breath away. For me, the same is true of Happening, which I watched when it first came out.
The movie has maintained a 99% Rotten Tomatoes critic score four years after its release. Indeed, even just thinking about it is as brutally poignant as watching it for the first time.
If you're looking to do a Vartolomei double bill, you're in luck. Happening is currently available to stream for free on Kanopy in the US and Australia, while UK fans can stream it on Amazon Prime Video. For anyone in the US, why not take advantage of the below HBO Max to stay up to date with new episodes of The Seduction.
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