British director Peter Strickland (BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO) puts an
S&M love affair under the microscope in his valentine to ’60s and
’70s European erotica. Every day, two women enact their elaborate
fantasy of domination and submission. Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna), plays the
part of a soft-spoken maid. Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) is the
middle-aged mistress of the house, for whom nothing Evelyn does is ever
quite right, and who doles out kinky, humiliating punishments
commensurate to each violation. As Cynthia yearns for a more
conventional relationship, Evelyn’s obsession with erotica quickly
becomes an addiction that may push the relationship to a breaking point.
“An arthouse counter-offensive to 50 SHADES OF GREY” – Scott Foundas, Variety.