Review of Last Tango in Paris (1972) by Hatem A — 26 May 2011

3.5/4.0.

If you are watching Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris" today for the controversy it stirred when released, you may be disappointed. It is nonetheless a very effective mood piece and showcase of loneliness. Yes, there is lots of nudity and sex scenes but they will not strike you as overtly explicit by today's standards.

Marlon Brando delivers a haunting performance as Paul, a middle-aged American living in Paris whose French wife, a small hotel owner, has just committed suicide. In a distraught state of mind, he wanders the streets of Paris and ends up in an apartment that he is interested to rent. Accidentally,a young Parisian woman, Jeanne (Maria Schneider), who is engaged to a wannabe movie director also wants to rent the place. The two start a fully anonymous sexual relationship in the apartment - the two neither know each others' names nor anything for the matter about the other.

"Last Tango in Paris" is a sad movie that will stay with you long after you have seen it. The two characters seem polar opposites on the surface as we track them through their personal lives - he is a man struck with tragedy and seemingly fully careless about his life and she is young, fresh and full of ambition. It has been said that the role plagued Schneider as she was constantly perceived as a sex toy all her career (indeed, she never had another significant movie role) - her character appears to be inexperienced and succumbs fully to the needs of Brando's character no matter how obscure they seem (the anal scene with the butter lube is a significant example). I believe her character is just right and Schneider's depiction is pitch-perfect. Wait till the movie's enigmatic finale and the "boy-toy" perception will be totally changed. Nominated for 2 Oscars: Director, Actor (Brando).