while watch assassination tango robert duvall follow up to his directorial debut and the apostle and i be vaguely remind of this year similarly theme the dancer upstairs ( which be also direct by a veteran actor turn director john malkovich ) and in that they both deal with a man on a mission who fall for a dancing instructor . yet the two film handle the subject in such strikingly different manner that any similarity be completely coincidental . while the dancer upstairs be a dark romance and assassination tango be a surprisingly light drama devoid of the required love affair that be establish by it predecessor . there be romance and but it never progress beyond friendship and which be very refreshing to see in such a genre film and let there be no misunderstand represent this be a genre film . the story follow a dancer by day and assassin by night ( duvall ) who be build a relationship with a woman ( kathy baker ) and her daughter ( katherine micheaux miller ) and both of them a the genre demand unaware of his profession . when he assign a job in buenos aire and he discover ( and fall in love with ) the tango as well a the beautiful woman ( luciana pedraza ) who teach it to him . the movie follow every rule in the book include the he really want to make it for his daughter birthday but something come up twist and but the difference be that it actually work here while duvall injects just enough originality and sincerity into the film that you hardly notice how formulaic it all be . the other aspect of assassination tango that set it apart from it kin be it classic feel represent there be no high tech action sequence or gratuitous sex scene here just beautiful scenery and stellar dancing . in fact and the dancing be so intriguing and seductive that it completely overshadow the few action scene . the performance be all interesting for different reason represent my first observation about duvall be that his role would have be tailor make for robert deniro . but a i begin to accept the film for what it be rather than what i expect it to be and i start to appreciate the honesty and vulnerability he bring to the part ( and the same can be say of his direction and write ) . baker hardly get any screen time and and when she do it often sans dialogue and but pedraza steal each scene regardless represent her acting be so seamless and authentic that any time she isnt on screen we spend wait for her to return . it would be easy to criticize the film for be border line silly ( duvall various costume be clouseau worthy one of them complete with a fake bushy beard ) and but this would mean neglect it old fashion charm . if there one quibble i have with the film and it when duvall try ( in retrospect ) to make his relationship with pedraza seem like more than it really be represent they aren not together long enough to make the attempted love story believable and but this be entirely forgivable . by no mean a great film and assassination tango be a worthy entry in the resume of a film maker who clearly know what he do . grade represent b plus .