Damage is a 1992 romantic drama film directed and produced by Louis Malle, starring Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson, Rupert Graves and Ian Bannen. Adapted by David Hare from Josephine Hart’s 1991 novel Damage, the film follows a British politician (Irons) who has an affair with his son’s fiancée and becomes increasingly obsessed with her. Richardson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the title character’s long-suffering wife in the film. Dr. Stephen Fleming, a doctor who has entered politics and become a minister, lives in London with his wife Ingrid and daughter Sally.
Their adult son, Martyn, a young journalist, lives elsewhere in London. At a reception, Stephen meets a young woman, Anna Barton, the daughter of a British diplomat and a four-time married French woman. Anna introduces herself as Martyn’s best friend; she and Stephen are immediately attracted to each other. Some time later, Martyn takes Anna to meet his parents at their luxurious home and reveals that they are having an affair. The sexual tension between Stephen and Anna is evident, although Martyn and Ingrid appear to be unaware of it.
After Anna calls his office, Stephen goes to her apartment, where they have s,e.x. The next day, Martyn is promoted and Ingrid hosts a celebratory dinner. There, Ingrid becomes suspicious and questions Anna about her childhood. Anna says that her brother, a year older than her, committed suicide out of “love” when he was 16. After dinner, Martyn drives Anna home and Stephen follows them. As Martyn leaves, Stephen enters and tells Anna how much he “wanted to touch her at dinner”, leading to them having sex again. Anna describes her brother’s death, after he expressed incestuous desires, saying “he wanted me all to himself and didn’t want me to grow up”. She says that damaged people are dangerous, and she hates possessiveness.
Stephen’s obsession with Anna deepens; on a whim, he leaves a conference in Brussels for Paris, where Anna is spending the weekend with Martyn. While Martyn sleeps, Stephen and Anna have sex in the doorway. Stephen then moves in opposite Anna and Martyn, spying on them; he now wants to be with Anna forever, even if it means destroying his family. Anna dissuades him, assuring him that, as long as she is with Martyn, he will always have access to her. Visiting Anna’s home, Stephen meets Peter Wetzler, her former lover. A jealous Stephen assumes that Anna is cheating, and when Peter leaves, he confronts her. Anna denies this and says that, having witnessed her brother’s suicide, she ran to Peter and slept with him as a reaction.
The Flemings visit Edward Lloyd, Ingrid’s father and Stephen’s political adviser, to celebrate her birthday. Martyn announces that Anna has accepted his proposal, which leaves Stephen visibly distraught. That night, Sally sees him leaving Anna’s room. Stephen nervously lies about this, telling Sally that he was talking to Anna about the marriage because Ingrid was upset. The Flemings later have lunch with Anna’s mother, Elizabeth, who is critical of the marriage, saying that Martyn does not look like Anna’s “usual type” but insists that he resembles Anna’s dead brother. Elizabeth notices the tension between Anna and Stephen. She downplays the relationship and warns Stephen to end it.
Initially, Stephen listens and ends the relationship. He tries to confess privately to Martyn and Ingrid, but ends up not doing so. He calls Anna, but hangs up when Martyn answers. Anna sends the keys to Stephen’s office, along with the address of the apartment where they can meet. She tells Stephen that she cannot marry Martyn without being with him. They meet at the apartment and make another attempt, but Martyn – who has discovered the apartment by accident – finds them in bed.
Overwhelmed, he accidentally falls over the banister and dies. A devastated Stephen runs down the stairs, clutching his naked body, while Anna quietly leaves. Stephen’s affair is exposed and becomes a media sensation. A devastated Ingrid wonders if he ever loved her and tells him that she wishes they had never met. Stephen resigns. He meets Anna’s mother and discovers that Anna is living with her, but he and Anna remain silent during their last meeting. Stephen, leaving his wife and children behind, retires to a rented room in a southern European town. In his account, he reveals that he only met Anna once more, by chance at the airport, and that she had a child with Peter. Stephen stares at Martyn’s enlarged photo on his wall of Stephen, Anna and Martyn together. He ends with a calm note: “She was no different from the others.”
