On the set of Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Glenn Close’s transformation into the Marquise de Merteuil was a masterclass in using physical restriction to build a character. The 1988 production, filmed in various French châteaus, was famously grueling due to the commitment to historical accuracy.
Close arrived in Paris with a seven-week-old daughter and described her body at the time as “looking like a loaf of bread.” To achieve the required 18th-century silhouette, she was first “wrestled into a modern girdle” and then a “beautifully fitted, very tight corset.” The restriction was so severe, reducing her waist to 24.5 inches. that she occasionally felt like she would faint and had to lie flat on the floor during fittings to recover.
She often described her costumes, designed by James Acheson, not as clothing, but as armor. To capture the rigid social structure of 1700s France, the production used period-accurate corsetry and underpinnings. The corsets were so restrictive that Close reportedly had difficulty breathing and eating during long shoot days. However, she credited this physical “trap” with helping her find Merteuil’s controlled, predatory stillness.
During the character’s climactic mental breakdown, Close was so immersed in the role that she reportedly lost bladder control while kneeling on the floor, only realizing what had happened after the scene ended. She personally conceptualized the film's final shot after director Stephen Frears told her the goal was to show that “her soul was on her face.”
Frears encouraged a sharp, intellectual atmosphere on set to match the wit of Christopher Hampton’s script. Unlike the more fluid, romantic approach seen in other adaptations of the novel (like 1989’s Valmont), Close maintained a formidable, intellectual authority on set. Crew members often noted how she could switch from a lighthearted conversation to the Marquise’s lethal coldness the moment the cameras rolled. Her chemistry with John Malkovich (Valmont) was built on a shared background in theater. On set, they approached their scenes like a high-stakes chess match, often rehearsing the biting dialogue until the rhythm was perfect.
Dangerous Liaisons was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 21, 1988. Grossing $34.7 million against its $14 million budget, the film was a modest box-office success. It was nominated for seven awards at the 61st Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning three: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.
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