Jeanne Labrune wrote and directed this French psychological drama that begins on a train when impoverished carpet salesman Samuel (Daniel Duval) eyes a sleeping woman, Muriel (Nathalie Baye), and peppers her with personal questions when she awakens. A successful screenwriter and novelist, Muriel has just been dropped by her older lover, so it's not long before Samuel becomes a presence in her polished Paris apartment, an arena for some intense sexual activities. Only problem -- as Muriel realizes the demented Samuel has drawn her into an abusive relationship, she is simultaneously attracted to him and frightened of him. The soundtrack features an excerpt from Philip Glass' opera Einstein on the Beach. Shown in competition at the 1998 Montreal Film Festival.