Damage

"Desire... Deceit... Destiny..."

1992 1h 51m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 726

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The life of a respected British politician at the height of his career crumbles when he becomes obsessed with his son's lover.

“Desire... Deceit... Destiny...”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Fandango At HomeRent

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Jeremy Irons
Dr. Stephen Fleming
Juliette Binoche
Anna Barton
Miranda Richardson
Ingrid Fleming
Rupert Graves
Martyn Fleming
Peter Stormare
Peter Wetzler
Gemma Clarke
Sally Fleming
Ian Bannen
Edward Lloyd
Julian Fellowes
Donald Lyndsay, MP

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Louis Malle
Writers: David Hare
Languages: English, French, German, Italian
Countries: France, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, French, German, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Louis Malle, shot by Peter Biziou. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Zbigniew Preisner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Bloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche and Miranda Richardson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Desire... Deceit... Destiny...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Louis Malle directs. Peter Biziou behind the camera. Zbigniew Preisner scores. John Bloom cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, French, German, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

134 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, French, German, Italian.
3International production across 2 countries: France, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Louis Malle, shot by Peter Biziou. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Zbigniew Preisner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor John Bloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche and Miranda Richardson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Desire... Deceit... Destiny...".
9IMDB entry: tt0104237 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "london, england", "sibling relationship", "loss of loved one", "longing".
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Biziou
Original score: Zbigniew Preisner
Editing: John Bloom
Production design: Brian Morris
Costume design: Milena Canonero
Makeup / hair: Paolo Mantini
Sound: Jean-Claude Laureux
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $11,000,000
Box office: $31,000,000
Return: 282% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Damage (1992)

Also by

Louis Malle

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Bazzjazz2018-04-26
★ 8/10
Harrowing movie, Juliette Binoche and Jeremy Irons have great chemistry. It’s a very ‘arty’ film . But it leaves you feeling queasy when you realize the consequences. Good show!
CinemaSerf2023-08-26
★ 6/10
Jeremy Irons is a happily married (to Miranda Richardson) British government minister who meets his usually quite rakish son's (Rupert Graves) latest girlfriend (Juliette Binoche). The two click immediately - and soon they are doing a lot more than just clicking. That's about it - they carry out their clandestine liaison with all it's concomitant risks and thrills before an ending that I really thought underwhelming. This is one of the frequently wooden Irons' better efforts, Graves still has his "Scudder" hair from "Maurice" (1987) and Binoche works well as the femme fatale, but somehow the story just plods along. It looks good, but the pace is all just to procedural and aside from the pitiable, and under-used, Richardson, the remaining characters engender little that is likeable or personable. Even the (infrequent) sex scenes lack intimacy or intensity; it's all just a little bit A+B=C, for me.