The Designated Victim

At the peak of his career, ad executive Stefano Augenti Tomas Milian finds his personal life in upheaval: a tempestuous marriage to Luisa Augenti Marisa Bartoli, a socialite who resents his ongoing affair with the French citizen Fabienne Bélanger Katia Christine. On the street, Stefano crosses paths with the enigmatic Count Matteo Tiepolo Pierre Clémenti, who coldly warns that destiny will force another meeting if they meet four more times. And they do. At a party, Matteo speaks with Stefano alone during a boat ride home, hinting that he expects something in return for their tenuous “friendship.”

By their fourth encounter, Matteo lays out a chilling proposition: they each know people in their lives who cause trouble—Marco, the name here is incidental; the core idea is simple and terrifying—kill the other’s family and walk away with the “perfect crime.” Stefano initially refuses, but the shadow of deceit tightens around him as he forges Luisa’s signature to push a project forward, then brings home the German woman Christina Müller Alessandra Cardini.

After a fierce argument with Luisa—fueled further by Matteo’s orchestration, sending Luisa flowers that hint at Stefano’s infidelity—Stefano storms out while Matteo arrives soon after and persuades Luisa to let him in. When Stefano returns, his world collapses: police flood the apartment, the place is trashed, and Luisa lies dead in her bed, strangled with a stocking in what looks like a botched robbery. Stefano becomes the prime suspect, his affairs and business troubles coloring every accusation, and he cannot prove what happened the night Luisa died because Christina is missing and a toll-ticket from a crucial moment cannot be found. He tries to turn the blame onto Matteo, but the authorities refuse to believe him, given Matteo’s noble standing.

Matteo continues to haunt Stefano, pressing him to follow through with the plan. He even positions Christina to facilitate a setup, and he sends Fabienne indications of Luisa’s jewelry—placed where she could see them in a curtain rod—further tying Stefano to the crime. Matteo then lays out the final act: he will invite his brother to dinner at his Venetian mansion, and Stefano must shoot him at the prearranged moment.

The tension crescendos as Matteo pushes the clock toward that fatal night; police, Fabienne, and Stefano race to a resolution. Stefano seizes the rifle Matteo arranged and heads toward the mansion as law enforcement closes in. He fires into the room where Matteo’s brother is supposed to be, only to reveal the shocking truth: the person he killed was Matteo himself. There had never been a brother at all—the entire plan was Matteo’s own elaborate ruse to die on his own terms, leaving Stefano to bear the burden of the crime.

In the end, the film unravels a web of manipulation, ambition, and fatal miscommunication, exposing how vanity, vengeance, and vanity again can drive two men toward a “perfect crime” that ends with the ultimate and ironic twist: the architect of the plot becomes its most tragic casualty.

Last Updated: October 07, 2025 at 08:45