Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The Last Mistress

Play trailer Poster for The Last Mistress Released Jun 27, 2008 1h 54m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
77% Tomatometer 97 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
After notorious libertine Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Aït Aatou) wins the hand of Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida), the most marriageable young woman in all the French aristocracy, he breaks off a decade-long relationship with his mistress, Vellini (Asia Argento). When rumor of his affair with Vellini reaches Hermangarde's family, her elderly grandmother confronts him and forces him to tell her the story of their love. Meanwhile, Vellini may not accept rejection that easily.

Where to Watch

The Last Mistress

The Last Mistress

What to Know

Critics Consensus

More complicated than your average bodice ripper, Catherine Breillat's Last Mistress features beautiful costumes, wrought romances, and a feral performance from Argento.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (97) Critics Reviews
Richard Brody New Yorker The director Catherine Breillat's period adaptation of an 1851 novel by Barbey d'Aurevilly delivers sex and pain with style and conviction that render her familiar themes new again. Dec 1, 2014 Full Review Mark Holcomb Time Out Rated: 4/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 4/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter This sexually charged costume drama from French provocateur Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl) finds still another gorgeous young French rake fighting a duel and never quite choosing between two great loves. Jun 1, 2020 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Mostly the actors are just saddled with a stiff screenplay that should have been fluid. The film seems as if its never quite sure where it wants to go. Rated: 2/4 Jul 6, 2019 Full Review Dan Sallitt Senses of Cinema [Director Catherine Breillat's] vision of cruelty and empathy operating hand in hand in human nature gives her enormous freedom to inflect dramatic conventions. Oct 12, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (314) audience reviews
Audience Member simply beautifully filmed. dark and complex characters. Asia is amazing and so damaged in this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member What you expect in a movie casting Asia Argento as a slightly unhinged mistress Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member For a film about passion, it was oddly static. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member I like costume dramas and period pieces as much as the next person, but this one just didn't sit that well with me at all. Despite the sumptuous detail, exquisite costumes and a great score, it failed to draw me in on an emotional level. For me, none of the characters were in any way likeable, and the worst thing was that it felt so stuffy. Besides this, I've only seen one other Catherine Breillat film, ROMANCE which, while having a depressing atmosphere that I often enjoy, was too pretentious for me to really get into. This film, combined with the other, is almost enough for me to swear off Catherine Breillat films from here on out. The basics of the story is that a young nobleman is engaged to be married, but his former mistress of 10 years (Asia Argento) doesn't want to let him go. I've never particularly liked Asia Argento, but she seemed a little more natural in French here then in the few English roles I've seen her in elsewhere. The actor who played Ryno de Marigny, the man to be married, also didn't work for me. He was so uncharismatic and it baffled me how he could have been so entranced by Asia Argento's Vellini. The only two characters that I thought were the least bit interesting were two old ladies, one of whom listens to Ryno's long story about his past with Vellini. At least they seemed like they were having fun with the material. Overall, while it might have a few interesting things to say about fidelity (or the lack thereof) in relationships and excellent production design, to me it was too emotionally vacuous and stodgy to really be effective. Maybe see this if you're a fan of Catherine Breillat, but for everyone else, there are better period pieces worth your time, such as THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member It was too slow for me,i couldnt get into it,nothing was happening.The only thing i really liked about it was the scenery and how beautiful it looked and how beautiful the actors were in this movie.I just couldnt finished it cuz it was getting kinda boring. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member More plot than usual for a Catherine Breillat film; that still doesn't mean that it's any better than her other stuff. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Last Mistress

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Queen to Play 70% 72% Queen to Play Watchlist Dans Paris 60% 66% Dans Paris Watchlist La Petite Jérusalem 62% 67% La Petite Jérusalem Watchlist The Beautiful Person 57% 58% The Beautiful Person Watchlist Secret Things 52% 37% Secret Things Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis After notorious libertine Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Aït Aatou) wins the hand of Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida), the most marriageable young woman in all the French aristocracy, he breaks off a decade-long relationship with his mistress, Vellini (Asia Argento). When rumor of his affair with Vellini reaches Hermangarde's family, her elderly grandmother confronts him and forces him to tell her the story of their love. Meanwhile, Vellini may not accept rejection that easily.
Director
Catherine Breillat
Producer
Jean-François Lepetit
Screenwriter
Catherine Breillat, Barbey d'Aurevilly
Distributor
IFC First Take
Production Co
Canal+, France 3 Cinéma, Centre National de la Cinematographie, Région Ile-de-France, CB (Catherine Breillat) Films, TPS Star, Flach Film, StudioCanal, Buskin FIlms
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 27, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 30, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$785.0K
Runtime
1h 54m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now