Product: Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Rating: 5.0
Beyond the Method
Marlon Brando is an aging American in Paris whose wife has just committed suicide; he meets a young woman (Maria Schneider) and attempts to work out his despair with her through sex. He falls in love with her and wants to start a new life with her, only she's in love with someone else. Brando is simply marvelous as Paul, frightening in his intensity as this man whose life has become a black hole. Much of Brando's performance apparently was improvized on the screen; it is a mesmorizing performance that goes beyond sheer acting and onto a higher level. The movie can be brutal at times, but that only seems to add to its power.