Following Ivan XTC, Bernard Rose and Danny Huston return to Tolstoy for this study of murderous envy that simmers like a B noir, only to disappoint once the steam clears from the energetic sex scenes between Huston’s controlling philanthropist and Elisabeth Röhm’s pianist.
Combining improvisation with studied voiceovers, Rose ably suggests how passion can lapse into routine, but once Huston is convinced Röhm is cuckolding him with Matthew Yang King’s violinist as they rehearse for a performance of the eponymous Beethoven opus, Rose struggles to find anything fresh to say about power or chauvinism.
While it often intrigues, it lacks the insight to convince.