Natalie is an editor and poet, part of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective 2024, published in The London Magazine and The White Review. A recent Modern Languages master's graduate, her thesis on Kafka and childishness looked at Charlie Chaplin and silent cinema in relation to Kafka's short fictions. She loves the zany and the unexpected, films that take risks and prioritise character study over plot - a recent favourite is Luna Carmoon's Hoard.
Natalie says...
The Last Showgirl is a curious homage to the glitz of the Las Vegas strip, where protagonist Shelly provides the public with 'Le Razzle Dazzle', a "boobs-and-feathers" show whose closing threatens to eclipse her raison d'etre for the past thirty years.
The name is tongue in cheek in more ways than one - as Shelley notes, "it's French!" - it conveys a certain class crucial to the film's narrative arc, as the 'ol' razzle dazzle' becomes truly old-fashioned against sexier, racier dance shows favoured by newer clubs. For Shelly, dance is theatre, an art that trumps sheer titillation, revealing a belief in performance that underpins her anxiety around ageing and is clearly visible in the incongruous rococo frills and swirls of her living room, where she practises ballet to black-and-white film.
Her romanticism is unconvincing, but better answered by the blunt contrast of Jamie Lee Curtis's Annette, whose show days have dwindled to serving drinks on a casino floor in a scanty butler's outfit, where at one point in the film she gives an impassioned solo dance on a table. One can't help feeling the silliness of these scenes as a star-studded cast wrings sparse dialogue dry through romantic and familial plotlines – but there's no denying the dreamlike, hazy cinematography of its glamour.
Bethany, 24
Bethany is a Film Studies graduate who loves exploring all kinds of cinema. Whether it be a 1980s horror film or the newest from Sean Baker, you can guarantee Bethany will be seated! She loves writing about women in film and supporting local independent movie theatres.
Bethany says...
Pamela Anderson shines as the lead in Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl, a glittering coming-of-age story centred around Shelly (Anderson) as she navigates feeling authentic again when she's told the show she dances for, Le Razzle Dazzle on the Las Vegas strip, is closing in two weeks.
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, a consistent collaborator with Coppola, manages to not only capture the beauty of these women on stage, but also unveil their true merit underneath their extravagant costumes. Yes, Shelly can look great with rhinestones all over her face, but she also has worth with her hair tied up in a dimly lit living room.
The raw, magnetic performance Anderson showcases in the opening scene (which is later repeated and expanded on) where she is auditioning in front of an audacious talent judge, played by Jason Schwartzman, is enough to draw anyone in to watch Shelly in her last weeks as a showgirl.
Shelly's blooming friendship with younger dancers Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), and older ex-showgirl Annette, played by a fabulous Jamie Lee Curtis, is one of the strongest, and best, female friendship groups put to screen in recent years.
With a runtime just shy of 90 minutes, The Last Showgirl is a must-see for anyone who feels lost in life as it serves as a reminder that you're never too old to go after what you truly love.
