last tango in paris, proximity to truth (pt 4)

so, now we have seen both paul and jeanne's homelife and heard a bit about their past. we've also seen them interact with other people.

jeanne lives in a large house with a large garden. it may have been nicer once (or perhaps its location may have been nicer once... the house is still quite nice), but it is still very nice. it's a place you wouldn't mind being filmed for a documentary.

jeanne has lots of memories of her childhood that she can share with tom for the movie. perhaps those memories are darker than what she told him, but they don't seem to upset her.

the only thing that's a bit odd is the colonel. is he the same person as her father? if so, why doesn't she just say so? if not, how did she get to know him?

we also see a bit of a conflict between jeanne and her mother over her father's things. so, there is something hidden there.

paul meanwhile, can't even bring himself to go back to the u.s. he has nothing but bad memories of his parents. it's likely what he didn't say is much worse than what he said.

it's clear paul isn't close to rosa's family. he notified them, but seems indifferent to whether or not they show up to rosa's funeral. his mother-in-law's attempt to comfort him only angers him.

he also doesn't seem that crazy about running the hotel although he seems willing to do it. and he's clearly been helping rosa with it.

it's interesting to see the change in paul when he goes into "hotel owner" mode. he becomes oddly meek. this is the way he first greets his mother-in-law, in fact

so, what draws jeanne and paul together? there is a strong indication even early on that this is more than a sexual liaison for both of them.

paul, although he doesn't want names, doesn't seem to mind jeanne's stories even though he can easily see through them.

when she tells him she drew castles with many towers as a child, he asks if she loved her teacher.

when she says her teacher was a woman, paul asks if she was a lesbian. "how did you know?" asks jeanne. "it's classic," says paul.

besides jeanne, the only person we see paul seem at ease with is marcel. they get along rather well for several minutes.
in fact, the scene with paul and marcel in their matching robes is the reason why I wonder why ANY lesser actor (and it can be argued every actor is a lesser actor than marlon brando) would want to attempt it... especially if that actor has persistent gay rumors around him. although to be fair, jeanne is the only (living) woman paul interacts with for more than a few minutes.

there is a scene where paul and jeanne are in the bathroom getting ready for whatever they're going to do in their separate lives.
paul is shaving with the straight razor from his pocket (the one rosa used) while jeanne puts on her make up.

at one point, jeanne even found the razor and related shaving materials in paul's pocket when she was searching for his identity. he returns before her search goes any further although you get the feeling he wouldn't mistakenly leave anything to be found.

jeanne asks if paul thinks she's a "whore." (she rather charmingly mispronounces the word) he tells her he thinks she's "an old-fashioned girl" trying to make her way in the world. jeanne tartly replies that she'd rather be a whore.

then jeanne deduces that paul hates women. she asks him sincerely, "what have they done to you?" paul never confirms her suspicion, but you do wonder... are rosa and then jeanne the only people who have ever really known paul?

to be continued...