Damage (1992)

Set in England, a member (Jeremy Irons) of Parliament falls passionately in love with his son's (Rupert Graves) fiancee (Juliette Binoche). Disregarding the danger of discovery and the pain it would cause his wife (Miranda Richardson in an Oscar nominated performance) and son, tragedy is inevitable. Based on the novel by Josephine Hart and directed by Louis Malle (ATLANTIC CITY). It's an intense if uncomfortable watch. There's a general dose of sex scenes between Irons and Binoche which I suspect were meant to be erotic but which I found more unintentionally laughable than titillating. I had little interest in the movie's two protagonists who seemed selfish and self destructive. I think it's clear that they can't help themselves but there's no hint of that obsessive compulsion in Irons' and Binoche's performances, just in the script. In the film's best performance, Miranda Richardson brings all the emotion and passion lacking in the two leads in her final scenes. There's a solid underscore by Zbigniew Preisner (THREE COLORS: BLUE). With Leslie Caron, Ian Bannen and David Thewlis.