Damage
(1992)
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In this gripping romantic thriller, a married and respected middle-aged MP becomes romantically and obsessively involved with his son's fiancee, ultimately ruining his career. Willing to pay any price for his passion, he goes a step too far, and ultimately arranges his own tragic demise. |
Louis Malle, directing his first English-language film since his return from America to France, employs an almost leisurely (but always exact) camera to highlight the emotional centre of this traumatic tale. Taken from Josephine Hart's bestseller by scriptwriter David Hare, the explosion of emotion is muted by moments of implausibility, caused by some widely varying acting styles. Whereas Miranda Richardson crumbles believably as the spurned wife, Juliette Binoche, as the object of an MP's lust, simply pouts seductively, while Jeremy Irons, as the naughty politician, spends too much time behaving like a startled rabbit.