The Last Mistress Details

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[Highly rated reviewer]

Femme Fatally Dull

The Last mistress gave way to so many French film cliches that it sunk under the weight of them - the passionate, wild, uncontrollable woman who makes men lose their faculties, the bitter old couple who want nothing more than to ruin the young, the politics, the cynicism and the tasteful nudity. Nothing made me yawn more than when the mistress has apparently gone but then reappears to make some improbably athletic love with the uninteresting male lead.

I suppose the costumes were well done and it all looked authentic but I just could not believe the supposedly magnetic irresistible sexual passion between the two leads. Once I found this improbable the rest of the film was dull.

Torrid tale, beautifully filmed

The film explores a gamut of emotions: high-octane obsessive love, furious jealousy and miserable feelings of rejection experienced by a man, his mistress and new wife. The structure of the story is as a retrospective narrative by the man told to his rather cynical new grandmother-in-law on the eve of his wedding. The film deftly balances explosive emotional scenes, erotic love-making and quiet, reflective interludes. There is an aura of decadence about the film enhanced by ravishing, elaborate costumes, and ornate interiors. It's a beautiful film to look at and the acting is very good with a super-charged performance by Asia Argentino as the Spanish mistress.