Upscale, decadent, obsessional sex between a member of the British parliament (Jeremy Irons) and the fiancee (Juliette Binoche) of his journalist son (Rupert Graves) heads the bill of fare in this lugubrious and rather contrived 1992 adaptation of Josephine Hart’s novel. Though the actors are intermittently interesting to watchand Miranda Richardson (as the hero’s wife) and Leslie Caron (as the heroine’s mother) are even better than thatthe story eventually capsizes into cheap melodrama. Because this whole project seems detached at times to the point of indifferenceno one ever seems to be having any fun, including the filmmakerseven one’s clinical interest eventually begins to evaporate. Louis Malle directed a script by David Hare; with Ian Bannen and Peter Stormare. R, 111 min. (JR)