Damage (1992)

A member of Parliament falls passionately in love with his son's fiancée despite the dangers of discovery.

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

David Hare (screenplay), Josephine Hart (novel)

Stars:

Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Irons	...	Dr. Stephen Fleming
Juliette Binoche	...	Anna Barton
Miranda Richardson	...	Ingrid Fleming
Rupert Graves	...	Martyn Fleming
Ian Bannen	...	Edward Lloyd
Peter Stormare	...	Peter Wetzler
Gemma Clarke	...	Sally Fleming
Julian Fellowes	...	Donald Lyndsay, MP
Leslie Caron	...	Elizabeth Prideaux
Tony Doyle	...	Prime Minister
Ray Gravell	...	Raymond (as Raymond Gravell)
Susan Engel	...	Miss Snow
David Thewlis	...	Detective
Benjamin Whitrow	...	Civil Servant
Jeff Nuttall	...	Trevor Leigh Davies MP

Storyline

A member of Parliament (Irons) falls passionately in love with his son's fiancée. They pursue their affair with obsessive abandon despite the dangers of discovery and what it would do to his complacent life and his son. Completely obsessed, he wants to give up his current lifestyle to be with her. She has no intention of allowing him to do this, preferring to have her marriage to the son as a cover. They are eventually discovered, and must deal with the damage. Based on the novel by Josephine Hart.

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Plot Keywords:

parliament | member of parliament | love | marriage | nudity | 

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Taglines:

With love comes risk. With obsession comes... Damage.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for language

Details

Country:

UK France

Language:

English French German Italian

Release Date:

22 January 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fatale

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$7,532,911 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF), Skreba Films, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Juliette Binoche reportedly walked off the set of the film when co-star Jeremy Irons became too physical during love scenes.

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Goofs

When Stephen is in the bathtub, Ingrid's arm suddenly changes position between shots.

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Quotes

Dr. Stephen Fleming: It takes a remarkably short time to withdraw from the world. I traveled... until I arrived at a life of my own. What really makes us is beyond grasping. It's way beyond knowing. We give in to love... because it gives us some sense of what is unknowable. Nothing else matters, not at the end.

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Connections

Featured in David Walliams' Awfully Good: Awfully Good Movies (2011)

User Reviews

Fascinating

This movie is really much less shallow than many people criticizing it would think. Actually, I was captivated by it from start to finish. It is understandable that one would question the likeliness of all these events happening, and in that respect the characters might be a bit unreal. But I don't think the movie should be watched that way. The sheer unreasonable passion between Anna and Stephen should be felt, not analyzed. I think that a lot of people wished that they would or could feel something like this for another in today's harsh, business-like world. It is always an easy way out to be cynical about it. Although the characters and their relationships are not very "deep", I found everything entirely believable, and that is the only thing that counts.

I did not really ever see an entire movie with Binoche or Irons, and I wonder how they managed to slip through for so long, because I loved them both. Funny how one commentator remarked that the Anna character should have been sleazier for credibility. Don't you see that this all about self-destruction? The tiny, innocuous-looking Anna that Binoche portrays, a girl that most people wouldn't give a second look, a girl that might seem cold at first sight, is just what attracts Stephen, because they both find in each other what they have never found in anyone else. Both characters are on a mission to make their lives more miserable, because that it what defines them. This certainly goes for Anna, but Stephen is even more interesting because his life is so well organized. Anna is just a catalyst for everything he probably wanted to happen one way or another, and that is why he will not stop their "collision course" when he still can. The inevitability of it all shows best at the end: he shows no remorse, or any other emotion, just acceptation. He was subconsciously wanting to put and end to the life he had been living so far. This is also a feeling that many people can relate to, I think. Yes, the end is a bit theatrical maybe, but it didn't bother me. I'd watch it again next week.

Great movie. **** out of ****.