5 stars for this acting masterclass from Michael Caine.
Mr Morgan’s Last Love is written by Francoise Dorner and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck (No Reservations, Mostly Martha) and is set against the beautiful backdrop of Paris.
The story centres around Matthew Morgan (Michael Caine – The Dark Knight Rises, Harry Brown), a American widower who is drifting through life following the death of his wife Joan (Jane Alexander – The Ring, Terminator Salvation), with whom he retired to Paris.
He is constantly haunted by the image of his dead wife and spends all of his time talking to her instead of engaging with the rest of society. He has steadfastly refused to learn the language, as his wife always did all the talking and he remains an outsider.
However, a chance encounter on a bus leads him to meet the spirited dance teacher Pauline (Clémence Poésy – Harry Potter, In Bruges), who finds herself inexplicably drawn to this mysterious and brooding stranger.
The pair become firm friends, he begins to attend her dance classes and they go for lunch, take walks around the city and generally begin to help each other to find what they need, a family for her and a renewed understanding of life and love for him.
When Mr. Morgan’s children, Miles (Justin Kirk – Goats, Angels In America) and Karen (Gillian Anderson – The X-Files, Room On The Broom) come over to see him from America, they completely fail to understand the nature of their relationship, and what follows is the attempts of all concerned to come to terms with the way their lives have turned out.
Mr. Morgan’s Last Love boasts some truly incredible performances and had me thoroughly charmed within the first five minutes and then all the way through to the end. It is beautifully written and deals with a quantity of difficult subject matter in a very sensitive way. It is a joy to watch and even though you always know deep down where it is going to end up, it does nothing to detract from this bitter sweet story of love and friendship.
If I have one complaint about the film it would be that Michael Caine does every now and again seem to forget that he is supposed to be American and, therefore, have an American accent. But, I guess we can forgive the big man for that one.
A definite must own this one, fabulous for a night in front of the fire with a glass of wine.
Mr. Morgan’s Last Love is available to buy on DVD from 8th Sept 2014.