Review of Last Tango in Paris (1972) by Sausages M — 02 Feb 2013

Interesting and difficult. There's a lot to like about this film, but also a quite a lot to dislike. Brando is near perfect- ad-libbing as the grieving, ageing, nihilistic, complicated widower; but ironically Schneider seems more improvised and just doesn't quite convince. Her sub-plot with her boyfriend and the film is obviously supposed to be some sort of contrast, and to offer us extra dimensions, but it comes off as a parody of the worst of French cinema. Perhaps this was intended but it's jarring when set against the violent emotional intensity of the main story. Frankly, that was sufficient. Her scenes at home with her mother were enough to tell us who she was; and at over 2 hours long we could have done with the filming parts being dropped. They're irrelevant.

However, despite this flaw the film does hold up and has some really excellent scenes. I'm not sure about the ending though- I really liked the idea of them at the dance hall acting the opposite to how they had before; Brando self-assured and Schneider looking lost, and for me you could have ended it there. The subsequent scenes felt tagged on, unnecessary and detracted from the film as a whole. The ending stinks.

Worth seeing, but watch it one afternoon like I did. Somewhere in there, there's a masterpiece- but not in this final cut, unfortunately.