MR MORGAN’S LAST LOVE
DIRECTOR: Sandra Nettelbeck
CAST: Clemence Poesy, Gillian Anderson, Michael Caine, Justin Kirk, Jane Alexander,
CLASSIFICATION: 7-9 LV
RUNNING TIME: 116 minutes
RATING: **
MICHAEL Caine and Clemence Poesy make for an odd but sweet pair in Mr Morgan’s Last Love, a dramatically unbalanced adaptation of Francoise Dorner’s novel La Douceur Assassine.
Gillian Anderson and Justin Kirk co-star as the recalcitrant if theoretically grown-up children of Caine’s Matthew Morgan, a Princeton philosophy professor who has retired and has been living alone in Paris since the death of his wife (Alexander, who occasionally appears as a vision).
His offspring cancel their plans for their annual visit but are forced to show up anyway when Mr Morgan decides to end it all, something oddly triggered by meeting a wonderful young woman, Pauline (Poesy), who teaches at a dance school.
Sold to most European territories and the US, where Image Entertainment will release it in October, Mr Morgan has also been making the festival rounds, powered by the arthouse-light bona fides of German director Sandra Nettelbeck (Mostly Martha, Helen) and the star power of its international cast. It should appeal to older audiences.
The main problem of Mr Morgan’s Last Love is structural as it is really two films in one. In the first story, which roughly takes up the first half, Mr Morgan wallows in his grief until he bumps into Pauline on a bus and the two strike up an unexpected friendship. The screenplay, written by the director, is observant here and neatly (if occasionally barely) devoid of clichés, something echoed in the score of the first half-hour, a gentle theme from composer Hans Zimmer with a spark of youth and hope to it.
But the dynamics of the couple’s unusual friendship change when, after Matthew attempts suicide, his adult children, Miles (Kirk) and Joan (Anderson), show up at the hospital. Neither wants to be there and they are somewhat acid-tongued, with Joan saying, “An overdose is not my favourite excuse to come to Paris, but thanks for making an effort, Dad”, and a puzzled Miles saying of Pauline, who’s in her 20s: “She’s our future stepmother for all I know.”
It’s clear Matthew hasn’t been much of a father to them and they also resent him for being far away. They are unsure what to make of the jolie blonde who seems to hang out with their father a lot, but this uncertainty also extends to the film, as the Pauline-Matthew relationship has to make way when Miles stays in Paris to thrash out his issues with his father.
A facile short cut turns things into a neat triangle in which Pauline and Miles also need to spend time together, but this subplot never convinces. There are too few thematic parallels between the relationships Matthew has with his son and surrogate daughter of sorts, so the film splits into two stories in the second half. Some of the meatiest material, like the idea that Mr Morgan wants to end his life because he has met someone as nice as Pauline, is only summarily explored.
Other than his American accent, which is about as steady as his character’s relationship with his offspring, Caine is an engaging presence. Although not convincing as a dance teacher, Poesy (Fleur Delacour from the Harry Potter films) has nice chemistry with Caine. Kirk (Angels of America) sleepwalks through much of the film, while Anderson relishes in her glorified cameo with some of the film’s most bitingly witty lines. – Hollywood Reporter
If you liked An Education, you will like this.