The Duke of Burgundy (2014)
Not about an actual duke! The Duke of Burgundy is a type of butterfly. This film is about a dominance and submission relationship between two women, one of whom is an expert on insects.
Of course you shouldn't expect things to be too straightforward. This is from the director of Berberian Sound Studio, a kind of horror film about Toby Jones as a sound designer working on an Italian horror film.
Here there are two refreshing elements which give this a definite edge over, say, "Secretary". Firstly, no attempt is made to explain why the submissive girl is submissive. It is not relevant. Secondly, a major interesting element in the relationship is that the more dominant woman is actually less confident in her role. Unlike in Secretary or even the recent 50 Shades of Grey, this is not a submissive who needs to be led into the submissive lifestyle. She knows what she wants and actually becomes impatient at times with her dominant lover. There are plenty of instances of 'topping from the bottom' by the submissive, which the dominant just doesn't know how to handle.
It's all very interesting but it's not a story. It has similar issues to Berberian Sound Studio in that it tries to go all cryptic and atmospheric in the third act to compensate for the lack of a definite ending. Except unlike BBS, TDOB is not a horror film. It's more of a love story or a romantic drama. Which is actually one advantage it has over BBS where Toby Jones is very isolated. Here we actually see two characters develop together rather than just one character who faces his situation alone.
That being said, there's a fatalistic sense in both films. The protagonists aren't able to make a real change. Perhaps that's why I find myself frustrated by both of these films despite being fascinated by the style and the subject matter.
B-