‘Last Tango in Paris’ isn’t all about the sex
Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris is still a cinematic revelation, some 40 years after it first shocked audiences in the early 1970s. Starring Marlon Brando, in perhaps his finest performance, the movie is an uneasy fable of living life with utter disregard for consequences.
It finds Paul (Brando) and Jeanne (Maria Schneider) as an unlikely couple searching for deeper feelings. Paul has lost his wife to suicide, and the opening scene shows him screaming to the heavens in anger. As he lets loose his screed, Jeanne happens to walk by, and the two follow each other, almost pulled by some cosmic force, into the flop hotel once operated by Paul’s deceased wife.
The two take up residence in an apartment, living an anonymous affair for several weeks. Their sex is raw and violent. Many of the scenes are vigorously acted, and Paul, ever-domineering, even rapes Jeanne in an infamous scene. It become clear that Jeanne has become stuck in Paul’s orbit. The whole relationship, from Paul’s perspective, feels like a fling, mostly because he doesn’t want any details shared during their time together. They are to create their own universe, forgetting about the past and not worrying about the future.
Brando’s Oscar-nominated performance is towering and still special to behold. His extended monologue in which he talks to the body of his deceased wife sends chills up and down the spine. It’s a scene featuring a roller-coaster of emotions, from desperation to nonchalance. In a matter of a few minutes, he is able to encapsulate the entire grieving process.
Schneider’s performance fits the film because the younger Jeanne is so subservient to the older Paul, but still, even though this is built as a two-person tango, it’s Paul’s evolution that Bertolucci is most interested in.
Last Tango in Paris turned heads in 1972 upon its release — mostly because of an infamous scene. Today, it still turns heads, but much more for its central performance and Bertolucci’s deft hand at displaying debauched yearning on screen.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
- Last Tango in Paris
- 1972
- Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
- Written by Bertolucci and Franco Arcali, based on a story by Bertolucci
- Starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider
- Running time: 136 minutes
- Rated NC-17 for explicit sexual content
- Rating:
