Sandra Nettelbeck directs the story of a retired philosopher recovering from the loss of his wife through his fledgling friendship with a dance teacher.
Set in Paris is the story of Matthew Morgan, who begins to move on from the loss of his wife passing away from cancer, by forging a new friendship with a young dancer. From their initial meeting on a bus to struggling to cope with his estranged children, Last Love addresses the issue of loneliness that people confront in their later years with a powerful, but at times confusing message.
The heart of the film is Michael Caine as Mathew Morgan. His performance is as emotional as it is powerful and helps carry the film, especially in its later stages. Clémence Poésy brings a warmth and believability as young dancer Pauline Laubie, Justin Kirk puts in a decent performance as the emotionally wrought son Miles and Gillian Anderson puts in a brief and bitchy performance as callous sister Karen.
The strength of the film is undoubtedly the performances, helping to paper over the cracks in the implausible premise of two people, with such age gaps, randomly meeting on the bus and forming such a close friendship as a result. It is a credit to Caine and Poésy that this central relationship is actually believable. Unfortunately, the cracks begin to open up further with the arrival of the children. Anderson’s appearance is so brief it is borderline pointless with Justin Kirk looking uncomfortable from the outset.
With the father and son dealing with such deep rooted issues, that a relative stranger would find themselves in the midst of such a family dispute is unlikely and starts to undermine the film. The final act damages the film further, with characters making emotional leaps out of nowhere, giving the impression whole scenes have been missed out. With the controversial final scenes adding to the confusion, all the good work put in at the beginning of the film is sadly undone.
A great performance undermined by unconvincing story. What could have been a wonderful film is reduced to being a wonderful platform for Caine’s considerable acting talent.
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