Review of Last Tango in Paris (1972) by Giridhar C — 14 May 2011

Marlon Brando is brilliant and his performance here on its own makes this film worth watching. Actress Maria Schneider was only 22 when she filmed this and she holds her own perfectly on the same playing field as Brando. He plays a 45 years old American widower living in Paris and she plays a 20 year old beauty that's engaged to a young filmmaker. They come together sexually and use each other for different reasons. They play by his rules where she submits to his every desire and there are no personal details for them to share to include their names. Their relationship is based solely on sex.

This film is held up highly and considered to be a masterpiece by many. When it came out it was shockingly controversial and broke boundaries with more than a few taboo scenes. The acting is as intimate and real as anything I've come across and it causes this film to resonate long after it's over. I enjoyed it, but I found the latter part of the film to drag and didn't quite feel the ending was beneficial to overall arc of the story. 8/10 from me.