Maria Schneider portrays "Jeanne," who while searching for an apartment is confronted by the unsettling “Paul,” played by Marlon Brando. The encounter occurs in a vacant flat where he assaults her. It’s revealed that Paul has recently suffered the loss of his wife to suicide and is now emotionally lost—appearing almost wild in his behavior toward this young woman. He leases the apartment, and she returns repeatedly, adhering strictly to anonymity during their encounters, as their sexual relationship becomes mechanical and all-consuming for both of them. The central question revolves around whether they can maintain emotional detachment as their meetings escalate, becoming increasingly degrading for her while simultaneously proving irresistible. She complies in every way; however, like anything easily obtained, the experiences eventually fail to satisfy his needs. He feels compelled to exert complete dominance over this young woman. Meanwhile, she is involved with “Tom,” an aspiring filmmaker (Jean-Pierre Léaud), who remains completely unaware of his fiancée's secret activities. Ultimately, it will be "Jeanne" who must seize control of her own destiny—but in what direction will she go? Despite its focus on passion, the film feels emotionally cold, lacking genuine connection between the characters as Bertolucci presents scenes of prolonged female nudity, awkwardly staged sexual encounters, and excessive dialogue that fails to create intensity; instead, it comes across as a series of unnecessary intimate moments that didn't benefit either Brando or Schneider. If the intention was to offer an insightful exploration of the human mind, primal urges, or dependencies, I found it simply too slow-moving, repetitive, and underdeveloped. It just wasn’t something I enjoyed.

Source on TMDB