A
film review by Rex Reed for Observer.com on Oct. 29, 2013.
When
in doubt, call Michael Caine. Thanks
to one of his most compelling performances in years, a routine May-December
romance called Last Love seems only
half as slow and inconsequential as it really is. At 80, the snowy-haired
veteran could have walked through it in a trance, but he’s a pro to the end.
He
plays Matthew Morgan, a retired American philosophy professor living in Paris
after the death of his wife (Jane Alexander,
in flashbacks). Mr. Morgan is a stiff and formal old codger who feels life has
played out its final scene and offers nothing more in the way of a future.
Enter Pauline, a friendly and compassionate young woman played by the sensible,
vital French actress Clémence Poésy (NATGEO's Genius: Picasso).
From their first random meeting on a crowded bus, the movie fails to explain
why a vibrant and attractive dance instructor becomes so fascinated by this
starchy senior citizen. Adding to his gloomy disposition are his grown children,
Miles (the always excellent, underrated Justin
Kirk) and Karen (Gillian Anderson),
a pair of disagreeable siblings with no affection for their father or each
other. After Mr. Morgan’s admission to the hospital following a sad suicide
attempt, both children arrive in Paris like storm clouds, critical and
disapproving of his friendship with a girl young enough to be his
granddaughter. But Pauline sticks by her new friend, who represents a makeshift
family and surrogate father, to the annoyance of his real children. For four
minutes short of two hours, nothing happens, and by the time Mr. Morgan (he’s
always referred to as Mr.) gets
around to starting a brand new revitalizing chapter in his empty life by
proposing marriage, Pauline has fallen in love with the haughty, verbally
abusive Miles, and everyone is left alone in a cliché-riddled and highly
unsatisfactory ending.
The
sturm und drang is accompanied and
enlivened by gorgeous shots of Paris that substitute for the charm that is
missing elsewhere. And it’s a real pleasure to share some quality time with Mr.
Caine as an old man wise enough to know there’s rarely any such thing as a
second time around but brave enough to take a chance anyway. But the writing
and direction by Sandra Nettelbeck
barely support his forceful presence. Last
Love is supposed to be a tender film about loss, friendship and family that
takes a poignant look at the terrible things people do to each other while
competing for love. But without an edge, the movie raises a lot of questions
that it fails to answer. You don’t want a sequel to this one. [Reed’s rating:
** out of 4 stars]
Blogger's comment: SPOILER ALERT... I agree with Rex Reed's critique. Pauline's interest in Matthew's son Miles is as inexplicable as her interest in Matthew himself. And, the only explanation for the tragic ending is that Matthew really had fallen in love with a young woman one-third his age, and was on the verge of proposing marriage when he realized that she had fallen for his son. But was Matthew's suicide the only way out?
Labels:
comedy, drama, Paris, romance, tragedy
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