The Last Mistress

The Last Mistress is a French period piece revolving around the lives of the aristocracy. Specifically it deals with a young nobleman who is about to marry a very desirable woman with considerable wealth all because of his friendship with the lady's grandmother. There is objection to the parring by some due to the man's lack of wealth and the fact that he has been carrying on a liaison with a mistress for ten years. The young man explains his life to the grandmother and his relationship with the mistress. Attempting to free himself from his past, he moves away with his new bride and attempts to live and love.

A great deal of the narrative is devoted to the relationship of the young man and his mistress. Less time but equally interesting is his relationship with his proposed bride's grandmother. Little to no time is devoted to the relationship of husband and wife. As you could expect a lot of what one stereotypically thinks of a French film is evident here. Lots of talk, little action and plenty of beautiful period sets and period clothing. We get our share of stuffy aristocrats, the opera and parties. And to be honest it doesn't do any of those things spectacularly well.

What sets it apart and made me enjoy it with a sort of simply glee was of all things an actress. And not an actress I would normally think was any good. Asia Argento plays the mistress, a half Italian, half Spanish resident of Paris who has the complicated relationship with the man. Beyond a rather impressive bust and a pleasant face, she doesn't offer a whole lot of cinematic merit. So her being cast as a bedazzling mistress of the past seems a bit out of place. Then again maybe the point is the unconventional nature of her. She lets her anger control her and she is absolutely the opposite of the proper society of the upper class.

But even if that was the intent, Argento still seems slightly out of place. She slumps on her elbows frequently. She looks as if she dressed hurriedly. She scowls more often than she smiles. And she has a certain sadist attribute to her. And all of this makes her so out of place that I couldn't help but be a bit bemused by it and by her. Like as if the original premise was that a goth chick was transported to the past and expected to make it on her own.

Of course there are themes of love. The man no longer loves the mistress and despite deep and abiding love for his wife occasionally falls to sins of the flesh. The grandmother loves or admires the man. The naive bride loves blindly. All are manipulated in some way to little or no real effect. And then more or less the film just sort of ends. It doesn't end in any compelling way, it just has a dramatic swell and then credits.

And in the end I can honestly only recommend the film if you have a perverse desire to see a casting choice that is ultimately so bizarre that it actually works...sort of.