Consenting Adults is a 1992 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 thriller film, directed

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 by Alan J. Pakula

Alan J. Pakula

Alan Jay Pakula was an American film director, writer and producer noted for his contributions to the conspiracy thriller genre.-Career:...

. It stars Kevin Kline

Kevin Kline

Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...

, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is an American actress and singer known for her role as Carmen in The Color of Money, as well as for her roles as Lindsey Brigman in The Abyss, Gina Montana in Scarface, and Maid Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.-Personal life:Mastrantonio was born in Lombard,...

, Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...

 and Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Augusta Miller is an American film director, screenwriter and actress, most known for her films Personal Velocity: Three Portraits , The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and Angela,and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee all of which she wrote and directed.-Life and career:Born in Roxbury,...

. The original music score was composed by Michael Small

Michael Small

Michael Small was an American film score composer best known for his scores to thriller movies such as The Parallax View, Marathon Man, and The Star Chamber. Relatively few of his scores are available on compact disc...

. 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's talent for blues singing gets Richard's attention, and Eddy is attracted to Priscilla.

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 to the Parkers as a gift. Eddy chastises Richard for not living dangerously, and suggests they swap mates for an evening.

The plot takes a nasty turn when Richard does sleep with Kay (supposedly without her realizing that he is not her husband) and Kay turns up bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat the next morning. Later it is revealed that Eddy spent the night elsewhere, to establish an airtight alibi

Alibi

Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...

. Richard's fingerprints are on the bat (the two couples having played a friendly game of softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 earlier that day) and his semen is found in her body, so he is charged with the crime.

Insult is added to injury as Priscilla disowns and divorces Richard due to his infidelity. Eddy soon becomes Priscilla's lover and a substitute father to Richard's child.

A distraught Richard finally finds a ray of hope when he discovers that Kay is alive, recognizing her voice singing in a radio talent show. With the help of a private investigator

Private investigator

A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...

 hired by the insurance company from which Eddy is attempting to collect a $1.5 million indemnity

Indemnity

An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...

 claim, Richard tracks her down and learns the truth of how he was betrayed. Kay is guilt-ridden over her part in it, but terrified at Eddy's threat to implicate her if she testifies.

Eddy, anticipating what Richard intends to do next, murders Kay 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 second murder. Now realizing Eddy's guilt, she worries over what to do about it. Richard performs a commando-style raid on Eddy's house, but Eddy, anticipating this move as well, reveals to Priscilla his plan to murder her and shoot Richard as a homicidal intruder.

Working together, Richard and Priscilla eventually kill Eddy, using the original murder weapon, the baseball bat. Richard and Priscilla are later seen moving into a very secluded house with no neighbors visible for miles.

Cast

Actor	Role
Kevin Kline Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...	Richard Parker
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is an American actress and singer known for her role as Carmen in The Color of Money, as well as for her roles as Lindsey Brigman in The Abyss, Gina Montana in Scarface, and Maid Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.-Personal life:Mastrantonio was born in Lombard,...	Priscilla Parker
Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...	Eddy Otis
Rebecca Miller Rebecca Miller Rebecca Augusta Miller is an American film director, screenwriter and actress, most known for her films Personal Velocity: Three Portraits , The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and Angela,and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee all of which she wrote and directed.-Life and career:Born in Roxbury,...	Kay Otis
Forest Whitaker Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...	David Duttonville (insurance adjuster)
E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall was an American actor, best known for his television roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the 1960s, and as neurosurgeon David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in the 1970s...	George Gutton
Kimberly McCullough Kimberly McCullough Kimberly Anne McCullough is an American actress, dancer, and director. She is best known for her longtime role as Robin Scorpio on the soap opera General Hospital, a role which she originated at the age of 7, playing the character from 1985-1996...	Lori Parker