Peril En La Demeure (1985)

A struggling guitar teacher (Christophe Malavoy) is hired to give music lessons to the nubile daughter (Anais Jeanneret) of a well to do couple (Michel Piccoli, Nicole Garcia). He starts an affair with the wife when shortly after, he is attacked by a stranger. That begins a series of events that will lead him down a murderous path. Based on the novel by Rene Belletto and directed by Michel Deville who won the best director Cesar (the French Oscar) for his work here. If it were the 1940s and shot in B&W, this would be referred to as film noir. Right from the beginning, there's something unspoken, something off kilter and it takes awhile for all the layers to drop. But anyone who's seen films like DOUBLE INDEMNITY and BODY HEAT can pretty much guess the direction the film is going. Everyone seems suspicious including the enigmatic neighbor (Anemone, who steals the movie) and a hitman (Richard Bohringer, who may or may not be gay). No one is really likable and when the cold blooded hitman is the film's most likable character, there's no one to really care about. That being said, it's never less than engrossing as it goes through its twists and turns to the inevitable outcome.