Emmanuel Levinas?s ethical philosophy has had a significant influence on film theory in recent years. Proposing a relationship between Levinasian ethics and film style, and bringing it into a productive dialogue with theories of performativity, this book explores this influence through three directorial bodies of work: those of the Dardenne Brothers, Barbet Schroeder and Paul Schrader.

Discussing a range of films ? including the Dardennes? Le Fils and The Kid with a Bike, Schroeder?s Maîtresse and Reversal of Fortune and Schrader?s American Gigolo and The Comfort of Strangers ? Edward Lamberti demonstrates how film styles can perform a Levinasian ethics.