Synopsis
Nicolas, a handsome, young waiter, is befriended by Frédéric Delamont, a wealthy middle-aged businessman. Delamont, a man of power, influence and strictly refined tastes, is immediately smitten by Nicolas' charm. Lonely and phobic, Delamont offers Nicolas a lucrative job as his personal food taster. In spite of their differences, a close friendship begins to emerge between the two men. However, their bond of trust and admiration soon spirals downward into a dangerous game of deceit and obsession for which neither is prepared.
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Cast
- Bernard GiraudeauFrédéric Delamont
- Jean-Pierre LoritNicolas Rivière
- Charles BerlingRené Rousset
- Florence ThomassinBéatrice
- Jean-Pierre LéaudLe juge d'instruction
- Artus de PenguernFlavert
- Laurent SpielvogelDocteur Rossignon
- Élizabeth MacoccoCaroline
- Anne-Marie PhilipeDocteur Ferrières
- Delphine ZinggNathalie
Recommendations
- 100
San Francisco Chronicle
The writing, by Rapp and Catherine Dussart, is exquisite, and the performers, including Francois Truffaut's old colleague Jean-Pierre Leaud as a magistrate, are all first-rate. - 90
Los Angeles Times
An elegant study of devious mind games and emotional perversion, it makes the strangest of psychological dynamics plausible and involving. - 80
L.A. Weekly
Rapp's creepy, ghoulishly funny and, finally, touching new film. - 80
The New York Times
This deliciously nasty French deconstruction of male pecking orders, directed by Bernard Rapp, should send a pleasant shiver down the spine of anyone who has ever obsessed about wanting to please a devious and manipulative boss. - 75
New York Daily News
A neat little almost-thriller, this witty French diversion manages to mess with your head with little apparent effort. - 75
Boston Globe
A Matter of Taste, French director Bernard Rapp's polished second film, swims in lies, ones that sate at first, but soon intoxicate, seduce, and drown. - 70
New Times (L.A.)
The two lead performances are so good it contains more emotional depth than it probably has a right to. - 63
New York Post
There are also food scenes that will whet your appetite. But somehow a satisfying climax never makes it out of the oven.
