One look at the movie "Assassination Tango" and we can see that Robert Duvall has aged.
Duvall wrote, directed and produced "Assassination Tango" and, like most of his other films, it centers heavily on character study.
Unlike some of his contemporaries, Duvall's age has not made him ineffective. Instead, he has become an elegant figure, graceful on the screen, communicating with understated facial expressions and the slow movements of an elder statesman.
Duvall stars as John J an assassin from New York who is the best at what he does. He is hired for a job in Buenos Aires, but he makes the man who commissioned the job promise that John J will be able to return in three days so that he can be back for his girlfriend's daughter's birthday party.
An interesting subplot revolving around John J's paternal love for the daughter, which is actually stronger than his love for his girlfriend, is not adequately explored.
The main plot involves Duvall's target being delayed in his return to Buenos Aires, forcing John to hang around the neighborhood for the next couple weeks, waiting for his chance to do his job.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
In the time there, he meets an incredible tango dancer, Manuela (Luciana Pedraza). Manuela guides him into the underworld of the Argentine dance scene, where tango is "love and hate - it is everything," as Manuela's aunt says. The dance scenes are breathtaking, the music varying from a whisper to a shout in the background and the camera often focusing on only the feet of the actors, tracing their movements across the floor.
However, with the beauty of the dance and the exploration of Duvall's character, also comes the confusing plot about the assassination. John is the self-proclaimed best killer, but Duvall wants the audience to sympathize with his character, necessitating his love for the tango despite his rough demeanor toward life in general.
The politics of the situation are not complementary to the plot, but merely a confusing distraction. Duvall would have been better off leaving the whole affair out, focusing instead on the conflict of John's devotion to his girlfriend and her daughter and the intense feelings that he obviously has for Manuela and the tango she teaches him.
This increased focus would have made the movie a deeper character study and would have reinforced the gracefulness of the dance scenes. As it stands, the movie is simply half and half - an ode to the tango that should impress even the most coldhearted of audiences and an assassination plot that only half of the audience will understand, much less appreciate.
Still the movie is worth the price of admission for the gasps you will make when you see the cast dancing.
"Assasination Tango" is playing at Madstone theaters at 6311 San Mateo Blvd.
