Not much must be said about this film apart from i highly advice People to rent this movie. With a strong British cast including Sting. The direction is superb and the dialogue is intelligent and dark. This combined with a dark sinister plot makes it one of my favourite films of all time and John-Paul Davidson one of the best British Directors around. There are strong performances from both Alan Bates and Thressa Russel. And a surprisingly good performance from Sting and a quest appearance from his wife. Based on the book by Patric McGraph. Go and see it. You will not be disappointed. A must see British Film!!! And in case i haven't said enough. There is a very chilling score. And yes i do love this film!!

Decidedly unpredictable but overly eccentric (you could say "overly British", but apparently the film was as much a failure there as everywhere else) black comedy, that strains to be whimsical at the expense of everything else (including laughs). The best thing in the picture is by far the bright young actress Lena Headey (wonderful also in "Gossip"), who lights up the screen every time she appears. Her sardonic smiles and the occasional gleams of dirty fun in her eyes are priceless; I don't think there's any other actress who can pronounce the phrase "how horrid!" (and mean exactly the opposite) quite like she does. (**)

If you have been itching to see more Sting on film here's your chance! You'll get to see all of him and often. As some other reviews point out this is not the standard American thriller, it requires a lot more attention to innuendos and symbolism. Anyone who is familiar with English country life will know that the understated aversive actions of the characters are dictated by the unspoken societal rules of such a setting. With his wife on and off the screen Trudy Styler,Sting puts on one of his most erotic, and intriguing performances. (For the boys and the girls!)

I like the premise of this film, a butler worming his way into the family to gain their inheritance, but the execution lacks any excitement, tension or even passion that it should.Sting fails to capture any real nastiness about himself, the cinematography is DULL and the really leaden script doesn't do any justice to the fine Patrick McGrath novel.