DAMAGE
A film review by Gerard Foley
Copyright 1996 Gerard Foley
Partly moved by Louis Malle's recent death and partly because it was on the library shelf, I looked again at "Damage", the 1992 film which he produced and directed. The screenplay is by David Hare from a novel by Josephine Hart (I have not read the novel. I believe David Hare writes fiction about British politics).
I think the film is extraordinary on several levels. It is the most convincing tale of eroticism that I have ever seen. It also maintains a moderately high level of suspense, not enough to distract from my enjoyment of other aspects of it. The performances Malle has obtained from his three stars are outstanding. Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche have, properly enough, top billing. In addition to her surprising delivery of her lines, without the least sign of a French acccent, as Malle says in his epilog, she tells volumes without speaking at all. So, for that matter, does Irons. I do not remember him giving a performance of such range in any other film or TV vehicle. He convinces me that he is an upper level politician and technocrat, an even smoother performance than we have grown accustomed to from other British actors playing politicians and civil servants. Part of this, of course, must be credited to Hare, the screenwriter, and Hart, the novelist, but some credit should go to Irons and Malle too.
The story is of a middle aged politician whose instant infatuation with his sons girl friend is as instantly reciprocated. Miranda Richardson plays the wife-mother, a much smaller and less flashy role than that of the other two actors but equally convincing. Malle makes you perfectly aware, by the end of the film, that a woman like the one Binoche plays is an all around menace, but you still mourn Irons characters loss of her as much as you do his loss of his wife and son.
As I write this, I am reminded of Polanskis "Bitter Moon". Superficially one might want to compare the male villain of "Bitter Moon" with the female protagonist of "Damage", but to me Polanski reveals a really deep hatred and contempt for all of his characters, while I think Malle really loves all of his.
The video includes a very warm interview-epilogue with Malle. Weve lost one of the great film makers.
Gerry
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