Dominik Moll's Lemming (2005)

Dominik Moll's Lemming is a psychological thriller, although he deliberately makes few positive statements in it, well, mainly suggestions, which of course serve to emphasise the unease and raise questions. There are four principal actors, apart from the lemming(s): Alain Getty (Laurent Lucas), his wife Bénédicte (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Alain's boss Richard Pollock (André Dussollier), and his wife Alice (Charlotte Rampling). Alain is a talented engineer specialising in remote controlled webcams and seems to be very happy in his personal and his professional life.

Until, that is, a lemming blocks his sink. Or rather, the atmosphere due to the appearance of a Lemming in the plumbing potentially gives cause for concern: lemmings mythically kill themselves, but anyway they inhabit Scandinavian countries, and aren't known in Toulouse. Cause for concern there.

And then Robert and Alice come to dinner with Alain and Bénédicte, Alice is more than frosty, claims that the reason for their being late is because Robert was seeing his tart, throws a glass of wine in Robert's face, and the dinner is over almost before it's begun.

When Robert is away Alice tries to make Alain have sex with her, but although he's tempted by this older woman he doesn't: he wants to be faithful to his wife and not lose his job. But then Alice forces herself upon Bénédicte, says she wants to sleep in their home one afternoon, and then shoots herself dead in the evening. Robert has already arranged to go to Biarritz for the weekend with Robert, and Robert isn't too phased by Alice's suicide, although on learning of her pass at Alain he's angry because Alain didn't sleep with her.

Meanwhile Bénédicte is behaving weirdly, seems to have it in for Alain, and then starts a steamy affair with Robert: for one who's formerly been so cool about things, she's now adopting the persona of Alice, is even becoming Alice, which Robert is only too keen to accept as it makes him feel younger. Until, that is, she (or is it Alice's ghost haunting her?) gives Alain the key to his boss's flat and everything blows. Then back to normal, but without Robert. So tense you can't not love it.