Mr Morgan’s Last Love

Billed as a “bittersweet tale”, the film tells of lonely American widower Matthew Morgan (played by Michael Caine) who learns to love life again after a chance encounter with a beautiful young woman called Pauline (played by Clémence Poésy) This is not new territory, the ‘old man falls in love with young girl and makes one last grab for love before shuffling off his mortal coil’ schtick has been done many times before. But this is about more than just a simple re-kindling of romantic feeling.

The opening scene introduces us to Morgan, a former philosophy professor, who is leading a humdrum existence after the death 3 years ago of his much-loved spouse, Joan. He is depicted as a doddery, bearded curmudgeon, which brings us to the first mystery of the piece. Why exactly does the winsome Pauline, whom he meets by chance on the bus one day, immediately find him so beguiling?! Whatever the reason, they immediately strike up a rapport, bonding over Caine’s execrable attempts at French (not nearly as awful as Caine’s American accent, as many have pointed out!).  This, of course, begs a second question: if Morgan loves France so much, how come he hasn’t bothered to learn even a few words of the lingo?! Pauline’s father has died many years before and it soon becomes clear that she’s looking for someone to take his place, and the opportunity to feel part of a family. In fact, it is her gradual realisation that ‘family’ is not always what it’s cracked up to be that informs the second half of the film. What’s in the relationship for Caine? Well, clearly not sex (phew!). Pauline, it seems, simply reminds Caine of his wife. So far, so good.  But then Morgan attempts suicide (one of many such attempts, I think). At this point the dynamic of the film changes as we learn more about Caine’s relationship with his children. Pauline now finds herself confused by the prickly relationship between Caine and his family. She seems to have a rather idealised idea of what ‘family’ means and finds it hard to understand the dysfunctionality of this particular group of individuals. At this point, Morgan’s son Miles turns up, dragging a bagful of issues along behind him (his wife left him 5 weeks before and is pregnant by her new man) and is unhappy about his dad’s new friend, the “French bimbo”, as he calls her. He instantly assumes (well, you would, wouldn’t you?), that Pauline is just out to take advantage of a vulnerable old man. He and Caine’s blousy daughter (played beautifully by Gillian Anderson) want him to sell the family home and come back to the US. Matthew wants to stay. Predictably, before much more time elapses, Pauline and Miles hit it off. Caine finds out and there follows a tense scene in which the two men exchange home truths, Miles taking what appears to be a long-overdue opportunity to point out Caine’s failings as a father. In the final scene, Matthew Morgan is now dead (having achieved the closure he wanted), Pauline and Miles look set to make a go of it and (rather neatly) Pauline has been left the house in St Malo.

So, did I enjoy the film? Yes and no. I liked the first half and the gradually unfolding relationship between the two principle characters. The film also has some gently humorous touches – the mini-exchange at the stamp-collecting club is quite funny, Caine’s efforts in Pauline’s cha-cha class inevitable raise a smile, and the scene at the snack van (early in the film), in which Caine is mercilessly mocked for his lack of language skills, is a delight. There are also tender moments, such as the delicate handling of bereavement. Pauline helping Caine to sort through his dead wife’s clothes is a very touching scene.

However, I liked the second half much less. I felt the script lacked focus as it went along, as one critic noted, it “wasn’t sure which story to tell”. Just when the film hints at the possibility of a May-December romance, it shies away and focuses instead on Morgan’s estranged family and the issue of dealing with the failings and regrets of the past. I felt that the overall pace was a bit slow and the general tone at times stilted. Despite some genuinely touching scenes, it was also a bit cloying in places, I wouldn’t perhaps go as far as the Telegraph’s Robbie Collin’s assessment (“mawkish fluff”), but I left the cinema feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

Watch a trailer here: http://www.flicks.co.nz/trailer/mr-morgans-last-love/8288/