The Duke of Burgundy

Evelyn, an amateur lepidopterist in her early thirties, cycles to the house of an orthoptist called Cynthia where she undertakes various household chores. Cynthia is around fifteen years older than Evelyn. Her cold and unscrupulous conduct belies her elegance, yet Evelyn tolerates the ill-treatment. In between various excursions to study butterflies and moths, Evelyn returns to the house where Cynthia subjects her to increasingly humiliating treatment. The tasks Evelyn has to perform become increasingly intimate, bordering on degrading, but she never protests. Cynthia and Evelyn love each other. Day after day, the couple act out a simple ritual that ends in Evelyn's punishment, but Cynthia yearns for a more conventional relationship. Evelyn's obsession quickly becomes an addiction that pushes their relationship to the breaking point.