While watching Assassination Tango -- Robert Duvall's follow-up to his directorial debut, The Apostle --, I was vaguely reminded of this year's similarly themed The Dancer Upstairs (which was also directed by a veteran actor-turned-director -- John Malkovich), in that they both deal with a man-on-a-mission who falls for a dancing instructor. Yet the two films handle the subject in such strikingly different manners that any similarity is completely coincidental. While The Dancer Upstairs was a dark romance, Assassination Tango is a surprisingly light drama devoid of the required love affair that's been established by its predecessors. There IS romance, but it never progresses beyond friendship, which is very refreshing to see in such a genre film -- and let there be no misunderstanding: this IS a genre film. The story follows a dancer-by-day, assassin-by-night (Duvall) who's been building a relationship with a woman (Kathy Baker) and her daughter (Katherine Micheaux Miller), both of them -- as the genre demands -- unaware of his profession. When he's assigned a job in Buenos Aires, he discovers (and falls in love with) the tango -- as well as the beautiful woman (Luciana Pedraza) who teaches it to him. The movie follows every rule in the book -- including the "he-really-wants-to-make-it-for-his-daughter's-birthday-but-something-comes-up" twist --, but the difference is that it actually WORKS here; Duvall injects just enough originality and sincerity into the film that you hardly notice how formulaic it all is. The other aspect of Assassination Tango that sets it apart from its kin is its classic feel: there are no high-tech action sequences or gratuitous sex scenes here -- just beautiful scenery and stellar dancing. In fact, the dancing is so intriguing and seductive that it completely overshadows the few action scenes. The performances are all interesting for different reasons: my first observation about Duvall was that his role would have been tailor-made for Robert DeNiro. But as I began to accept the film for what it was rather than what I expected it to be, I started to appreciate the honesty and vulnerability he brought to the part (and the same can be said of his direction and writing). Baker hardly gets any screen time, and when she does its often sans dialogue, but Pedraza steals each scene regardless: her acting is so seamless and authentic that any time she ISN'T on-screen we spend waiting for her to return. It would be easy to criticize the film for being border-line silly (Duvall's various costumes are Clouseau-worthy -- one of them complete with a fake bushy beard), but this would mean neglecting its old-fashioned charm. If there's one quibble I have with the film, its when Duvall tries (in retrospect) to make his relationship with Pedraza seem like more than it really was: they aren't together long enough to make the attempted love story believable, but this is entirely forgivable. By no means a great film, Assassination Tango is a worthy entry in the resume of a film-maker who clearly knows what he's doing.<br /><br />Grade: B+