Une affaire de goût (2000) - film review

A wealthy business man, Frédéric Delamont, engages a young waiter, Nicolas Rivière, as his personal food taster.  Lured by some serious money, Nicholas willingly subjugates himself to Delamont’s every whim, giving up smoking and being constantly at his master’s beck and call.  The two men develop a dangerous mutual dependency for one another, leading to a deadly conclusion...

This is a well-crafted, compelling psychological thriller, the second film to be directed by the well known French broadcaster and writer Bernard Rapp.   Sadistic manipulation and the psychological dependency that can induce in its victims are the film’s main themes, explored with chilling realism and immediacy.  This is partly down to Rapp’s masterful direction (heightened by the sombre photography), but it is also the product of some exquisite performances from the lead actors Bernard Giraudeau and Jean-Pierre Lorit.

Although the film follows a fairly conventional structure, the narrative is cleverly intercut with a series of flash-forwards involving a judicial investigation.  This way, the film’s outcome is revealed near the start of the film, effectively creating a feeling of mounting suspense as the story gradually unfolds to explain why things had to end that way.

The result is a captivating piece of cinema which takes its audience on an unpredictable journey into the murky subconscious perversity of its self-destructive protagonists.

© James Travers 2001

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