Lucia and refuses to leave the estate until he obtains the key. He tells them that the key can be used to unlock a secured box containing damning evidence against a judge, which he does not want released. Should they cooperate, Thomas claims he will coordinate Cécile's boyfriend's release. Lucia claims multiple times that she tossed the key into the Seine although Thomas does not believe her. Thomas knows that the key remains somewhere in the house. After five days of his living at the estate, Lucia attempts to murder Thomas with the same poison she used in her own suicide attempt but Thomas outsmarts her. He shatters the glass of poisoned whiskey she gave him then repeatedly shakes Lucia until the key falls off her person. Thomas attempts to escape the estate with the key in hand but is either knocked unconsciousness or killed by two blows of a barbell swung by Joyce. Anna, Claude, Joyce, and Lucia conduct an infantile mock trial for Cécile's boyfriend, highly reminiscent of the sensationalized trial in Werner Schroeter's Palermo or Wolfsburg. This performance mawkishly prompts them to reconvene with their former students at Constance's theater and rehearse a play. The rehearsal seems to be the first time the students have worked together on a play. Despite their talent, they struggle to finish even a single scene. They realize that they are unable to act without Constance's relentless criticism, not knowing if she'll ever return. Cast Bulle Ogier as Constance Benoît Régent as Thomas Fejria Deliba as Anna Laurence Côte as Claude Bernadette Giraud as Joyce Inês de Medeiros as Lucia (as Inês d'Almeida) Nathalie Richard as Cécile Pascale Salkin as Corinne Dominique Rousseau as Pauline Agnès Sourdillion as Jeanne (as Agnès Sourdillon) Irina Dalle as Esther Caroline Gasser as Raphaële Irène Jacob as Marine Albert Dupontel as A (fake) thug Florence Lannuzel as Louise Françoise Muxel as Valérie References External links 1989 films 1980s French-language films 1989 drama films French drama films Films directed by Jacques Rivette Works about performing arts education 1980s French films