Fear (1956)

Bergman is Irene, a woman who succumbed to the attentions of another man while her husband was imprisoned (unexplained) and then at a facility to recuperate. Understandable, I'd say. She breaks it off when her husband returns home, but finds herself being blackmailed by her ex-lover's ex-girlfriend.

As Irene gets more desperate to keep the blackmailer from spilling her secret, her husband notices she's "off" and pleads with her to tell him what's upsetting her. Since I guessed the twist right off, I'll tell you: her husband is behind the blackmail scheme. He wants to punish her? Or possibly -- since he's a scientist who regularly works with guinea pigs -- maybe just study her? Whatever he's doing, it's not cool.

By the end of the film, Irene has found out what he's done and is about to commit suicide when he finds and stops her from doing so. There's an embrace where he asks for forgiveness and she asks for forgiveness for being so cruel. Uh -- what?? You were lonely and in serious need of comfort. Your husband is the cruel one. Yeesh.

C