Distraught following his wife's suicide, American hotelier Paul (Marlon Brando) becomes transfixed by the beautiful younger Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) and demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.
High Art moments are offset by the grossly misogynistic behavior of Brando's character and scenes and dialogue that can seem so insipid that they negate any real eroticism or serious shock value.
The operatic extravagance of Bernardo Bertolucci's style has emerged more clearly since this 1972 drama, which still managed to seem vaguely naturalistic in the midst of its extravagant camera moves and eccentric construction.
But when we look at this film, it signals a feeble turn towards art house eroticism which is tame by today's standards. For as Maria Schneider herself says ', we've seen much worse'.
