In this first act, the audience is complicit. We root for her. We believe in the romance. We buy into the folie .
But it was the 1999 film Cruel Intentions that cemented the phrase’s modern, sinister reputation. In the film, the locket given to Annette (Reese Witherspoon) contains the inscription. It is a gift from a man (Ryan Phillippe) who was playing a cruel game but fell in love. The irony is that the phrase is meant to describe his confusion, but it ultimately defines Kathryn’s sociopathy: she destroys lives à la folie while feeling empathy pas du tout . a la folie... pas du tout
Many people confuse the adrenaline of anxiety (waiting for a text, the high of a chase) for genuine love. True intimacy is boring, safe, and reciprocal. Folie is exciting, but it is a solo sport. In this first act, the audience is complicit