Death and the Maiden (1994)

"Paulina Escobar (Weaver) is a housewife married to a prominent lawyer in an unnamed South American country. One day a storm forces her husband Gerardo (Wilson) to ride home with a kind stranger. That chance encounter brings up demons from her past, as she is convinced that the stranger, Dr. Miranda (Kingsley), was part of the old fascist regime and that he tortured and raped her while she was blindfolded. Paulina takes him captive to determine the truth. Despite attempts by both her husband and Miranda to convince her that he is innocent, Paulina is certain that he is the one, and forces her husband to be Miranda's 'attorney' in the 'trial' she arranges for him." 

This is the climactic scene, so if you haven't seen the film I recommend you watch it first. It plays better in context. Under the threat of death if he doesn't make a genuine confession, Miranda starts talking. 

He can't stop. Does he think that if he does before she's convinced he isn't pretending he'll be thrown over or is he relieved that he can at last make all his "secrets" and "ugly thoughts" known? It's left ambiguous. You could interpret it as a model example of torture leading to a false confession. You could say the point is it no longer matters if what he's saying is true but my feeling is that it is. 

There have been entire movies about what Kingsley lays out in three minutes. He's plaintive, angry and pathetic. There's the snorting laughter of a mischievous child, a detached fascination with what he allowed himself to become and an enthusiasm for recalling every last detail. There's a truthfulness to it, almost an integrity, that's enough to satisfy Paulina. 

How is it that people come to do what Miranda is accused of? It's too much to ask of a film for it to answer that question but it's no small accomplishment that Kingsley and Death and the Maiden give an account that feels the least bit honest. It doesn't matter if it's a false confession. It'll do.