Uninspiring movie has some redeeming features

Movie review – Mr Morgan’s Last Love (2013)

Set in Paris with a strong cast led by Michael Caine, this film promises much but in the end, delivers little.

Michael Caine may be one of the best and most respected actors around but I believe this film is not one of his best.

Expecting an iconic Englishman like Caine to speak consistently with an American accent throughout any movie is a difficult task.

And although Caine’s character Mr Morgan – a retired Philosophy professor mourning the death of his wife – battles bravely to maintain the American twang, it is very often lost in Caine’s natural Cockney.

This movie is essentially a love story with a twist in the tail.

Caine is lost in a haze of depression – a haze that is lifted by a chance meeting with an attractive young dance teacher on a Paris bus.

Caine strikes up an unlikely friendship with the girl Pauline (played by Clemence Poesey), which leads to his visiting her dance class.

The premise of an old man commencing a relationship with a much younger woman has been seen before in many movies, of course.

However, in this movie it just doesn’t seem to work. For me, Caine is just far too old to be a realistic partner for such a young and attractive girl.

This is underscored by the visit of Caine’s children to Paris after he makes an unsuccessful suicide attempt.

His grown up son (played by Justin Kirk) is embittered and angry for many reasons, not least of which is the resentment he feels for his father for his moving to Paris and distancing himself (and his mother), from the rest of the family.

The daughter (played by Gillian Anderson) appears particularly indifferent to the pain and suffering her father is going through.

Arriving from the US, she seems to be more interested in the Paris shops than the welfare of her father, and soon returns to the US with her shopping bags.

The only saving grace of this film is the slightly forced ending, which unlike the rest of the film, is somewhat unpredictable.

Released in 2013 this film was not a box office success and for good reason.

Thankfully however, it does have some redeeming features, especially if you are a Michael Caine fan.

Movie review by Mike Peeters

Picture courtesy: Telegraph online