"The Last Mistress" *** 1\2 (out of ****)It was a little less than two weeks ago I reviewed Asia Argento in the film "Boarding Gate". I didn't care for that film very much but said I was indeed quite curious to see more from Argento. I didn't find her to be a great actress or even one who seems to deserve the label which has been placed upon her, that of "beauty" but she has a face I would describe as "interesting". So it was with great excitement I walked into Catherine Breillat's "The Last Mistress".
Having watched this film on the heels of Jacques Rivette's "The Duchess of Langeais" this film is everything I hoped that one would be. I said "Duchess" lacked passion not so with this film. We know every little dirty thought going on in the lead character's mind. And that should not come as a surprise considering this film's director. We sense the longing and frustration within these people. We never quite sensed much in Rivette's characters.
"The Last Mistress" deals with the marriage between Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Ait Aatou, whom Breillant supposedly discovered in a cafe) and Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida). He is a libertine, a man of lose morals. She comes from a wealthy family with good standing. It is discovered, thanks largely to viscomte de Prony (Michael Lonsdale) and comtesse d' Artelles (Yolande Moreau), that the young man has been having an affair with Vellini (Asia Argento). The old couple take great pride in delivering the news as Prony even goes to Vellini's, whom he too had an affair with, to tell her the news of Ryno's marriage. When word gets to Hermangarde's grandmother (Claude Sarraute) who also arranged the marriage, she decides she and Ryno need to have a heart to heart talk. So Ryno confesses everything and tells her the story of how he met Vellini. The rest of the film is told in flashbacks.
Breillat has been a director I rarely take pleasure in watching her work. Her films are highly explicit and usually deal with female sexuality. I've only seen two of her films, the last two she had made, "Anatomy of Hell" and "Sex is Comedy". Some of her other credits include "Fat Girl" and "Romance". As I understand it her films many times are extremely vulgar. Her films are not meant to excite us but rather make us think about sex and the gender roles associated with it. But after watching two of her films I felt the issues in her films are more interesting than the way she presents them. "Anatomy of Hell" was one of the most disturbing times I had watching a movie. Because her comedy "Sex is Comedy" wasn't as extreme I decided that was perhaps my favorite. Here though with "The Last Mistress" Breillat has made a near masterpiece.
Breillat tells a more mainstream story but one still dealing with love and sex, obsession and gender roles. The film has some nude scenes but they are not vulgar. Breillat shows a great restraint and lets the characters unmask their emotions instead of taking off their clothes. This is both good and bad. I wish Breillat would have kept everything exactly the same about this film but added more sex because the sex is not porn in this film but a device used to further illustrate obsession and desire.
As for Ms. Argento. Well, she's better here than she was in "Boarding Gate". I'm still not convinced she is a great actress but was suited for the role. She is not a beauty but in this role has a great deal of sex appeal which was strongly needed for the character. And I must admit when she is on-screen I did take notice. Roxane Mesquida is a greater beauty but doesn't have the screen energy Argento has. As for her acting. She is not quite there yet but neither was Marilyn Monroe. What makes them famous is there on-screen presence. Whatever one says about Argento she is interesting to watch.
"The Last Mistress" also has some great cinematography by Giorgos Arvanitis, who has shot several Theo Angelopoulos films and has shot several Breillant films including "Romance" and "Fat Girl". He is able to perfectly capture Ryno and Vellini's desires with close-ups and taking one object and making us think of another and all the sexual implications of it.
Though I've not been a fan of Breillat's work in the past here she shows she is a capable director. A filmmaker of great craft. The film was even nominated for a palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival and judging from what I've seen so far this year, it is one of the year's best! Bravo Ms. Breillat!
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