|
The Last Mistress
was one of the most elegant and erotic offerings in the 2007 Chicago
film festival. The film has finally made it to Chicago and it is
currently receiving an extended run at the Landmark Century Theater.
It features the long
awaited collaboration of Catherine Breillat (the director of the
disturbingly explicit, Fat Girl and Romance) and Asia
Argento, the Italian actress who is a mega celebrity in Europe (in the
USA she has a smaller but devoted following.) Both Breillat and Argento
are known for breaking cinematic taboos, so they were perfect choices to
work on this film about a woman who scandalizes 19th century
society because she is too ahead of her time.
This has been a good
year for the popular Italian actress/celebrity Asia Argento. Three of
her films were released in the US this year, and two more features that
star her may yet get distributed. She played the lead in the instant
cult classic, The Mother of Tears, and elevated what could have
been an ordinary scream queen role (The movie largely succeeds because
of her anchoring performance and the film’s magnificent style.) She was
even more impressive in the suspenseful S&M thriller, Boarding Gate.
But Catherine Breillat’s The Last Mistress is the most satisfying
of the three films, and it gives Argento, one of her meatiest roles.
Argento is savagely
seductive in the main role of Vellini, a 19th century
Parisian woman who goes against all her society's norms, and she
repeatedly spits in the face of societal conventions. She tempts her
former lover, Ryno de Marigny (played by Fu’ad Ait Aattou) to betray his
young, innocent, and very wealthy new wife (Roxane Mesquida). You can
see why his character would be conflicted. His wife has a sweet, sunny
disposition, but no one can unleash his libido or dark side like Vellini.
One of the defining
moments in the film is when early in their relationship Ryno gets shot
fighting her then husband, and Argento sucks on the bullet wound before
they make love. If either actor overplayed their role just a little bit
the whole scene would have descended into camp.
We know that Ryno and
Vellini will never find happiness because the film begins with a scene
of his breakup with her, and then it flashes back to the whole story of
their affair.
The only complaint I
have about the film is the dumbed-down and inappropriate title, which
does not suit the story as much as the original. The film was originally
named after its French source novel, “Une Vielle Maitresse,” which
translates as “An Old Mistress.” That would have been more relevant to
the story because Vellini’s shallow romantic rival is about 20 years
younger than her. It’s also significant because the last condescending
words that Ryno says to her when he ends their carnal affair is “You
don’t betray a new love with an old mistress.”
Despite this
complaint, the film is consistently riveting, thoughtful, and sumptuous.
It’s refreshing to see a period piece that actually raises modern
questions about the fairness of gender roles, the issue of ageism, and
how changes in the class system affected sexuality. The Last Mistress
may take place in the 19th century, but the film is much more
relevant than most films that take place today.
Vittorio J. Carli © 2008
Vito@reelmoviecritic.com |
