With her first film in a decade, the fearless 75-year-old French auteur
Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl, The Last Mistress) proves she's as
provocative as ever with her Cannes-stirring film, which drives down the
dark road of uncontrollable passion. A remarkably nuanced, radiant Léa
Drucker plays Anne, an attorney who has plateaued in her marriage to
Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin), a distracted businessman. His son, troubled
seventeen-year-old, Theo (Samuel Kircher), from a previous marriage, has
recently returned to Pierre's ineffectual and despondent care. When
Pierre leaves town for a business trip, Anne and Théo -- confined under
the same roof for the first time -- find themselves in the throes of an
unexpected and dangerously lustful affair, threatening the stability of
the household. Music by Kim Gordon heightens the erotic tension of LAST
SUMMER, a film that boldly surveys power dynamics, female desire, and
fulfillment.
What the critics are saying:
"A story about a woman who — after entrancing and appalling you — emerges
as both more monstrous and more human than you’re prepared for."
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
"“Last Summer” is a work of artfully sustained sexual suspense."
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
"A drama expertly modulated to raise both eyebrows and pulse rates, led
by a superb Léa Drucker performance that’s rooted in uncontrollable
self-destructive passions and intense self-preservation instincts."
Nick Schager
The Daily Beast