The Last Mistress (2007)

Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writers:

Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (novel), Catherine Breillat (adaptation)

Stars:

Asia Argento, Fu'ad Aït Aattou, Roxane Mesquida

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Asia Argento	...	Vellini
Fu'ad Aït Aattou	...	Ryno de Marigny
Roxane Mesquida	...	Hermangarde
Claude Sarraute	...	La marquise de Flers
Yolande Moreau	...	La comtesse d'Artelles
Michael Lonsdale	...	Le vicomte de Prony
Anne Parillaud	...	Mme de Solcy
Jean-Philippe Tesse	...	Le vicomte de Mareuil
Sarah Pratt	...	La comtesse de Mendoze
Amira Casar	...	Mademoiselle Divine des Airelles
Caroline Ducey	...	La dame de Pique
Lio	...	La chanteuse
Isabelle Renauld	...	L'arrogante
Nicholas Hawtrey	...	Sir Reginald
Léa Seydoux	...	Oliva

Storyline

At 30, boyish penniless aristocrat Ryno de Marigny has separated from Villini, a passionate Spaniard and his mistress of 10 years. He's now in love with Hermangarde, a young, wealthy, and titled virgin. Days before the wedding, the bride's grandmother sits Ryno down and insists on knowing if his affair is over. He relates a story of passion, which we see in flashbacks, swearing he loves only Hermangarde. After the wedding, the couple moves to a castle by the sea. And Villini? Can passion survive disgust and self-loathing?

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Plot Keywords:

breasts | female frontal nudity | female nudity | female full frontal nudity | infidelity | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Mistress

Filming Locations:

Île de Bréhat, Côtes-d'Armor, France

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$33,554, 29 June 2008

Gross USA:

$785,671

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,831,577

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flach Film, CB Films, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Asia Argento hated working with Catherine Breillat, calling her a sadist and claimed that she was abusive on set.

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Goofs

In one shot, Asia Argento's tailbone tattoo is visible. Although tattoos were known to early 19th century Europeans (in fact, they date back before civilization), it seems improbable that Argento's character, a Spanish lady in France, was meant to have a tattoo in a design like the actress's tattoo.

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Connections

Featured in Metropolis: Cannes 2007 - Special (2007)

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Soundtracks

The Plaint
By Henry Purcell

User Reviews

The Last Mistress

Last Mistress, The (2007)

*** (out of 4)

Libertine Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Ait Aattou) is about to marry into a rich family but must explain to his soon to be wife's grandmother why he has spent the last ten years with the same mistress (Asia Argento. The man must explain the two's connection and he must then face the fact that he won't be able to see her again or if she will let this happen. Breillat has become one of my favorite directors since seeing FAT GIRL several years back and she continues her success with this love triangle that certainly has a lot more style than substance. In the end, I'm really not sure if this movie tries to say anything other than that men are worthless pigs but if that's all there is to say then I'm alright with it because this is a beautiful film to look at and we're given some fine performances to watch. Argento is the one who really stood out for me and this is certainly the best I've seen from her. She's usually hit and miss (especially in her dad's movies) but she nails all the right notes here and delivers a full character. I really felt Argento hit all the dramatic notes just right and I think she did quite well in the more emotional scenes at well. There's a bizarre sequence in the desert where she really gets to show this off as well as mixing it in with her sexuality. Being a Breillat film, you know there's going to be quite a bit of sex and nudity. There's plenty of both but it's certainly a lot tamer than we're use to seeing but Argento dives into it head first. There's not an inch of her body that Breillat doesn't put the camera on but this is never a bad thing as she's got a certain way to throw her sexuality around. Newcomer Ait Aattou is also very impressive as the libertine as he perfectly captures the spirit and tortured soul of this character. He and Argento work extremely well together and this is especially true during their more dramatic moments. The visual look of the film is a real treat as the cinematography is top notch as is the costumes, art design and the marvelous sets. It seems Breillat spent a lot more time on the style here than the actual substance but I don't say this as a negative thing. I'm sure some might feel there should be more meat here but I think the film balances both ends quite well and in the end we're left with a very impressive film, although no classic.