Consenting Adults

Consenting Adults is a 1992 thriller film, directed by Alan J. Pakula. It stars Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Miller. The original music score was composed by Michael Small. The film's tagline is: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife."

Plot summary

Composer Richard Parker and his wife Priscilla live an ordinary suburban life until they meet their new neighbors Eddy and Kay Otis. The two couples became friends. Kay is an amateur singer with a great blues voice, and this gets Richard's attention. Eddy shows attraction for Priscilla. Meanwhile, it becomes clear that Eddy is a scam artist - he fakes a neck injury after an auto accident for the insurance proceeds, the majority of which he offers as a gift to the Parkers. Eddy chastises Richard for not living dangerously, and suggests they swap mates for an evening. The plot takes a nasty turn when Richard sleeps with Kay - who turns up bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat the next morning. Later in the film it is revealed that Eddy spent the night elsewhere, to establish an airtight alibi. Since Richard fingerprints are on the bat (the two couples having played a friendly game of softball earlier that day) and his semen is found in her body, he is charged with the crime and must prove his innocence.

Insult is added to injury for Richard, as Priscilla disowns and divorces him, and Eddy Otis becomes Priscilla's lover and surrogate father to his children. Richard discovers that Kay is alive when he recognizes her voice singing in a radio talent show. With the help of a private investigator (Forest Whitaker) hired by the insurance company from which Eddy is attempting to collect a 1.5 million dollar indemnity claim, Richard tracks her down and gets the truth of how he was betrayed. She is guilt-ridden over her part in it, but terrified at Eddy's threat to implicate her if she testifies. Shortly thereafter Eddy, anticipating his moves, murders her and slips away. Implicated in a second murder, Richard must now flee the scene as police sirens approach.

Priscilla discovers a forgotten plane ticket Eddy used on the night of the first murder and, realizing Eddy's guilt, worries over what to do about it. Richard performs a commando-style raid on Eddy's house and Eddy, anticipating this move as well, reveals to Priscilla his plan to murder her and shoot Richard as a homicidal intruder. Richard and Priscilla, working together, eventually kill Eddy, using the original baseball bat.

The film ends with the camera gradually pulling away to a wide aerial shot of Richard and Priscilla moving into a very secluded house with no neighbors visible for miles.

Main cast

Actor	Role
Kevin Kline	Richard Parker
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	Priscilla Parker
Kevin Spacey	Eddy Otis
Rebecca Miller	Kay Otis
Forest Whitaker	David Buttonville
E. G. Marshall	George Gutton
Kimberly McCullough	Lori Parker

External links