THE LAST MISTRESS
THE LAST MISTRESS is adapted from a controversial 1851 Novel Central to the story is Ryno de Marigny (newcomer Fu'ad Ait Aattou who is much too pretty for a guy) and Vellini his lover of 10 years portrayed by veteran Italian actress Asia Argento - clearly the more macho of the two until seen unclad which becomes more and more frequent as the film progresses. We meet Ryno in 1835’s Paris as it’s announced that he’s engaged to the chaste aristocratic Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida). Parisian tongues stat to wag about a marriage of social climbing convenience for the hedonistic Ryno who is summoned by Hermangarde’s worldly grandmother for reassurance of his love and dedication for her granddaughter. The movie continues as a recounting of the steamy decade between Ryno and Vellini. The Last Mistress is kind of a Brokeback Mountain for heterosexuals where two lovers are hopelessly drawn to one another despite the 19th century social unacceptability of their affair and in the end are incapable of leaving each other alone.