It’s practically a rite of passage for directors who have built up a reputation to follow in the steps of Fellini and make their own 8 \u00bd<\/em>, their lavish inspired-by-true-events film about their own life and the ever-so-dramatic experience of being a tortured artist. Film, and art as a whole, is dominated by narratives of male creators and their process, from Bob Fosse\u2019s All That Jazz<\/em> to Pedro Almodovar\u2019s Pain and Glory<\/em>. It\u2019s less common, however, to see women take the same route. Joanna Hogg\u2019s The Souvenir<\/em> duology is a welcome exception to the rule, but The Tango Lesson<\/em> stood alone, oft-ignored or cruelly dismissed, for many years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Potter was dinged for her supposed narcissism by some critics, a claim that feels unnecessarily pointed given her male predecessors and their self-focus. Some said that the movie seemed to exist solely for Potter to show off her dance skills, which are admittedly stunning. What such sneering ignores is how Potter’s unabashedly feminine view of the artist’s story reveals the tensions between the genders. By extension, it also subverts the expectations we have of such narratives when told by men. There’s no familial drama, no addiction subplot, and no nagging ex-spouse. Instead, it’s a story about a romantic filmmaker exploring the intersections of love and art, and how beautiful that can be. It\u2019s a simple idea amid a very meta story, but one that resonates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Through her blossoming relationship with Veron \u2013 not a natural actor but a figure of sheer presence in a way that is easy to be taken by \u2013 we see Potter find not only a personal kind of satisfaction but a creative one. The tango offers a true form of balance that she can\u2019t seem to find in film. Even as a singular cinematic force, Potter has to submit her ideas to Hollywood studio heads, portrayed as parodic figures of buzzwords and cultural blindness, none of whom seem to care about the art itself. To dance is to be an equal partner in a duel of ideas and emotions. It\u2019s to desire and be desired, to expose one\u2019s deepest intimacies for an eager audience. In that aspect, it\u2019s not unlike film, where Potter has often mined her own experiences for narrative exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Tango Lesson<\/em> is sharply aware that the boundaries between art, work, and love are blurred at best. The semi-fictional Sally asks Pablo to teach her to dance with the vague promise that she will cast him in one of her films, an offer he is eager to fulfil. The more Sally dances, the more it evolves from a welcome distraction to an obsession, then, through the act of being a movie, work. To put it bluntly, her hobby becomes a new side-hustle, bringing with it all of the roadblocks she encountered trying to write her script. Her romantic story is as much a part of her professional image, and soon she’s forced to navigate the tightrope walk of integrating these various elements of her life: writer, director, performer, dancer, lover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing that this struggle happened off-screen as well as on- adds a deeper layer of artistic entanglement, as does the central performance by Potter. She\u2019s exposing her own journey and revealing the creative results, which feels startlingly raw in a way even the most candid of these films shy away from. Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle<\/em><\/a> lamented that Potter “often looks worn out”, which is partly the point: it’s tough doing all the things she does, and it’s supposed to be. Yet there is deftness here, especially in how Potter eschews dialogue in favor of movement. Why monologue about your feelings when you can tango with three men at the same time? Even Bob Fosse hired someone else to play him in All That Jazz<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The film does not conclude with the end of Potter and Veron\u2019s relationship. Rather, it is given an optimistic focus, with Potter singing a song to him (one that she co-wrote, adding another string to her bow of auteur talents.) It\u2019s remarkably optimistic for this sub-genre and an open-ended way to finish the story. If this romance ends \u2013 and we know that it did \u2013 then there will be others, and new stories to tell with those who inspire. Therein is the real love story, and a film that acts as the greatest love letter Potter could have hoped to make for Veron, for her audience, and for herself. “The Tango Lesson” is available for digital rental and purchase<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/tango-lesson2-1024x576.jpg\")
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