The novel on which this movie is based, a slim thriller by the great American writer Charles Willeford, is in many ways typical of the author. It examines misogyny and murderous psychosis from so seemingly close a perspective as to make the reader queasy, if not downright upset. But the 1971 book contains something extra: an erudite satire of contemporary art, often expounded upon by an insufferable mansplainer.

The mansplainer, in the book and this movie adaptation directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, is James Figueras, played as a looming, imposing figure by Claes Bang. First seen delivering a lecture cum con job to some museum tourists in Milan, he’s soon summoned to the Lake Como estate of a rich art collector named Cassidy. He brings along Berenice, a plucky pickup (Elizabeth Debicki) who proves to be an impediment to the task Cassidy has in store for James. Cassidy has put up a reclusive, legendary artist at his estate and wants James to steal one of his paintings.