Laurent Heynemann (whose most recent film is Birgitt Haas Must Be Killed) made an impressive directorial debut at the age of 31 with La Question (1977), which hit at a still-tender nerve in France, the Algerian War. Le Mors aux Dents is a more commercial but no less analytical film about a current French pastime, gambling at the races, or “le Tiercé,” which occupies the Sundays of some 10,000,000 Frenchmen who sink 25% of their leisure budget into the sport. But “le Tiercé” is full-time work and big-time gambling for some. Heynemann's thriller is set behind the scenes at the races, where dark plots and counterplots unfold until the race is fixed. The story revolves around three characters: Chazerand (Michel Piccoli), a mathematical genius with a minor in betting; Dréant (Michel Galabru), a shady industrialist with friends in high places; and Le Guenn (Jacques Dutronc), a young politico whose future will be made or broken at the track.