After fifty years of marriage, Lise still loves Germain, and Germain still loves Lise. Deeply. In their case, it is the expression “opposites attract,” not “birds of a feather flock together,” that applies. Lise is very involved in the cultural life of the community, while Germain enjoys the company of Marcel Proust in the comfort of home. But then, in the midst of quiet happiness, Lise suddenly dies. Tearful, Germain nevertheless insists on honoring the promise he made to the deceased, that is, to take her place in the dance show she was rehearsing. In the comic drama Last danceFrançois Berléand is typically endearing as a septuagenarian widower who puts on “leggings” to honor his beloved.
Released in French-speaking European countries in 2022 under the original title, Last Dance, because why not, this co-production with Switzerland written and directed by Delphine Lehericey tries to solicit the lacrimal glands and the spleen in equal measure.
As well-intentioned as the film is, the result is very uneven.
Indeed, not only is the balance between tears and laughter intermittent at best, but the comic register itself is poorly modulated. That is to say, we are sometimes in a more subtle, more bittersweet humor, sometimes in something approaching heavy-handed farce.
Thus, in the scenes set in the municipal library, an important place for Germain, and in those set in the rehearsal room (where the choreographer Maria Ribot plays her own role), we are treated to a more subtle treatment, both in drama and comedy. Conversely, in the family section, where the protagonist’s relatives try to control his existence with infantilizing benevolence, the line is forced on both fronts.
Since the different registers do not merge, tones and tone breaks do not work.
Some passages also seem to come from another time, like when Germain is discovered in the middle of a rehearsal, at home, in the company of his young dance partner: his granddaughter, who shows up unexpectedly, concludes that “grandpa” is gay. And, as we know, when a straight person is mistaken for a gay person, it’s very funny because… Because what, anyway? In short, here and there, we’re in the mood for slightly corny humor.
The staging is, however, quite effective, elegant even, especially during the dance sequences. And there is François Berléand, who enhances everything by his presence alone.