Damage (1992 Film)

I very well remember reading a novel named "Damage" when I was at a age when I should not have been reading that. I think the novel is still lying somewhere in my home.

I was intrigued by the title and poster. I do not think my brother would have let me read it. So, I read it when he was not around, someplace alone and unbothered. I was not a kid but certainly the book was bit much for me, I confess.

The tagline of the book echoed in my mind days after finishing the book. I still remember it word by word.

"Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive."

I am not going to say what else occupied my innocent thoughts afterwards, of course.

I remember the cover of the novel had something on the line "now a major motion picture". There was no way I was going to miss watching the movie adaptation. But that didn't happen that soon. There came a time when it slipped out of my mind entirely.

A few years after, I saw the novel again. It resurfaced and so did the desire of watching the film. The film proved hard to get on the internet for streaming. I downloaded it from some torrent site, illegally of course.

Believe me, the movie was more shocking than the book. All that written drama unfolded in visuals. I knew the story, the ending and everything but still the film left me feel disturbed for a while.

I am going to be honest on here, I hate it when they give faces to book characters. When you read a book, you make characters' faces, mannerism, style and everything according to your imagination. When a movie adaptation comes out, that gives one single identity to characters for the whole world.

All that, I am not going to recommend this one to you. Here's why.

Little About The Movie "Damage 1992"

The film "Damage (1992)" is about a British politician Dr. Stephen (Jeremy Irons) who becomes obsessed with his son's girlfriend Anna (Juliette Binoche).

This British psychological romance/drama film was produced and directed by Louis Malle.

The film stars Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche in the main lead. The supporting cast includes Miranda Richardson, Leslie Caron, Ian Bannen and Rupert Graves.

This was an Anglo-French co-production. Therefore, it starred two popular faces from France alongside the English cast, Leslie Caron and Juliette Binoche.

The screenplay written by David Hare is based on the novel "Damage" by Josephine Hart. The film was made just after a year the novel was published.

The Damage received mixed reviews from critics but more on the favorable side. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 78% critic rating, based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10 on IMDB audience rating.

The film had a rather high pre-release buzz. The famous entertainment paper Variety even called the film unjustly famous for its anticipated erotic content.

To attain a R rating for theatrical release in USA, some sex scenes had to be trimmed by the makers. Only the DVD release of the movie had the untouched sex scenes.

One interesting thing about the movie is that the love-making scenes between Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche were not entirely choreographed unlike the standard methods of filming love-making scenes employed by filmmakers in most movies.

Story of "Damage 1992"

Spoilers ahead!

The 1992 British film "Damage" is the cinematic adaptation of the novel of the same name published a year before in 1991.

The basic theme of the movie is of a shocking, wrong-in-multiple-sense love story between Dr. Stephen Fleming, a middle-aged British politician, and Anna Barton, a beautiful and intriguing French girl.

What can be shocking and wrong about a universal human emotion -- love?

The question is spot on but what if that emotion is not love but an obsession between a mature man from a noble family and a sensible and smart woman, that is bent on destroying everything.

Dr. Stephen, a middle aged family man - the leader of the ruling party - the head of a noble British family, meets young and beautiful Anna at a reception, the daughter of a British diplomat. Their eyes meets triggering desire and wants.

Anna tells Stephen that she is a close friend of Martyn, his son. That doesn't dent the attraction for Stephen.

Some times later, Martyn brings Anna to a family dinner and introduces her as his girlfriend to his family.

The apparent sexual tension between Stephen and Anna at the family house remains unknown to Martyn and Stephen's wife Ingrid.

What happens next is the start of a journey that is bound to lead to destruction.

Stephen visits Anna at her flat after she calls him in his office. He has sex with his probable future daughter-in-law. The essence of nobility and morality crosses his minds but he is unable to control himself.

He loses all the sense of the traditions and family responsibilities against the urge of his sexual desire.

On the other hand, Anna had a haunting past. She had gone through mental breakdowns as a teenager after her brother had committed suicide.

She knows the consequences of this relationship but perhaps it is the grief of past keeping her restless and unable to make concrete decisions about her present life.

A noble family man having sex with his son's girlfriend is repugnant, but the convincing and intriguing aspect of the screenplay is so powerful that the audience feels obliged to drift along the story; at times wishing and hoping to be able to somehow save Stephen and Anna rather than watching them knowingly plunge themselves into a path of destruction.

Film critic Roger Ebert in his review rightly puts it,

"Stephen and Anna are wrong to do what they do in Damage, but they cannot help themselves. We know they are careening toward disaster. We cannot look away."

There comes a point when no one can help anyone. The director blatantly sells hopelessness in the movie.

These sexual encounters can be called anything but love; obsession, helplessness, sadness, social alienation or maybe a tragic but lesson-filled protest against the values of the upper class.

The movie, no doubt, has the ability to truly damage you at the end. This is a story about humans who know what their actions are going to lead to but still knowingly "damage" themselves.

Just ask yourself, before watching "damage", if you have the strength and capacity to watch a psychological and mentally disturbing movie. All I can say is I do not recommend this.

Where to Watch The "Damage 1992" Film

The movie is only available on rent/buy basis on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

Damage (2023?): The Netflix Adaptation

Netflix is currently producing a limited series adaptation of the Josephine Hart Novel. "Damage 1992" film is the original adaption.

Netflix described it as, " an erotic thriller about obsession and desire."

The announcement was made in March 2022 during a Netflix UK event in London.

The director duo Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D's (known for Ordinary Love, Good vibrations) will helm the project for Netflix.

While the series doesn't have a finalized release date, it is expected to come in the first half of the next year.

According to reliable reports, the Netflix version of Damage is going to consist of three episode with each going to be around a hour long.

Richard Armitage and Charlie Murphy will star in the main leads. The supporting cast is going to be Indira Varma, Rish Shah and Pippa-Bennet Warner.

Well, can't wait for this one for obvious reasons.