Product: Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Rating: 3.0
So much potential, so little payoff
"Last Tango in Paris" is a curious mixture of brilliance and tedium. Brando's acting is finely honed, and the direction and cinematography are striking and atmospheric. The best parts of the film -- several of the scenes between the lovers, and Brando's monologue to his dead wife -- are darkly haunting.The problem, however, is that the memorable scenes are separated by long stretches of stupendous boredom. The entire subplot with Jean-Pierre Leaud is weak and annoying, and much of the dialogue throughout the movie is atrocious -- the sort of rambling dreck that one might expect from a college student trying to sound "deep." It's as if the film's editor was incapable of distinguishing real emotion from sophomoric posturing and simply left everything in the final print.Rent before buying if at all possible. Reactions to this film will vary wildly.