LAST DANCE (1996, Bruce Beresford)

 

 * * * 

A woman on death row sees a chance for clemency when a new lawyer takes on her case.

Starring  Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid, Peter Gallagher, Jack Thompson

Written by  Steven Haft, Ron Koslow

Produced by  Steven Haft

Duration  103 minutes  

 

Watching LAST DANCE forces the viewer to confront a question cinephiles have grappled with for three decades. Is Sharon Stone a good actor?

Stone seemed to burst out of nowhere, aged 33, when she played Catherine Tramell in BASIC INSTINCT (1992). But really she'd been around for ages, beavering away in movies of varying quality until getting her big break.

There was Wes Craven's Hittite horror DEADLY BLESSING (1981); Drew Barrymore emancipation drama IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES (1984); INDIANA JONES knock-off KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1985) (and its sequel); POLICE ACADEMY 4: CITIZENS ON PATROL (1987), which was so bad it pushed Steve Guttenberg out of the franchise; ABOVE THE LAW (1988), which made Steven Seagal a star; and ACTION JACKSON (also 1988), which failed to do the same for Carl Weathers.

Then BASIC INSTINCT made Stone big; so big that the makers of 1994's THE FLINTSTONES movie wrote a part for her called 'Sharon Stone'. She turned this prehistoric payday down, perhaps not wanting to become a parody of herself, although she hadn't minded popping up as Tramell in LAST ACTION HERO.

Reflecting on casting the part that made her famous, director Paul Verhoeven noted Stone's ability to turn on a dime from vulnerable to vixen, citing her performance for him as the duplicitous fake-wife in TOTAL RECALL. Personally, I love BASIC INSTINCT, with all its sleazy insanity and mile-wide plot holes (two words: forensic evidence). It's the ultra-graphic version of FRENZY Alfred Hitchcock wishes he'd been allowed to make. And I especially value it for Stone, who gives one of the most underrated performances of the 1990s. But was it a one-off?

Unfortunately, Stone is often only remembered for that legs-uncrossing scene. And it's likely that this overt sexuality has taken attention away from her craft. For instance, when she got Oscar-nominated for 1995's CASINO, her achievement was rarely referenced without mention of all the glitzy outfits she adorned throughout the three-hour Vegas mob epic. (To be fair, the colourful suits Robert De Niro's wore were also often commented upon.)

But nevertheless, Stone never again reached the heights of her Verhoeven or Scorsese pictures. Other than in those, it's fair to say she's been pretty forgettable. And occasionally, downright regrettable – I'm thinking of the ill-judged BASIC INSTINCT 2: RISK ADDICTION, or her unintentionally hilarious fat-suited turn in ALPHA DOG.

LAST DANCE, meanwhile, is most remembered (if it's remembered at all, which I'm sure it's not) as wilting in the awards-lavished shadow of the similar DEAD MAN WALKING. In fact, it made even less money than the death penalty movie that came straight after it, John Grisham adaptation THE CHAMBER.

But despite the box office underperformance, could it be that LAST DANCE is Sharon Stone's overlooked masterpiece of cinematic acting?

The movie was her follow-up to CASINO and a clear attempt to 'de-glam', after not only that film but other sexy roles like SLIVER, THE SPECIALIST and DIABOLIQUE.

In this one, Stone's Cindy Liggett is spoken about for a good 15 minutes before she's even shown in the flesh. We just get photos in Cindy's case file, and not only of her but of her crime: she's on death row for a brutal double murder.

Our entry into Cindy's world comes via Rob Morrow's inexperienced lawyer. Morrow, fresh from six moose-bothering seasons of Northern Exposure, receives Stone as a by-the-numbers case, scheduled for lethal injection in 30 days, no interest in parole from either the state or herself.

But the more Morrow burrows, the more he becomes convinced that Cindy is ... not innocent, but the victim of a mishandled case that has left her unfairly facing the chair. (I'm aware that they don't actually use the electric chair anymore, but presumably when they lethally inject you, they're nice enough to let you sit down?) But his bosses don't want him to dig too deep and pressure him to leave well alone.

Stone is definitely as unglamorous as we've ever seen her. It's the hair, a dirty copper-brown. It's the accent, from somewhere deep south. It's the lack of makeup and baggy prison clothes. And especially it's her blunt, charmless character. Granted, she's not quite Charlize Theron in MONSTER. But it's close.

As well as presenting an un-glitzed version of its leading lady, LAST DANCE grapples with issues. Are some people on death row who shouldn't be? Should there be a death row? Why is it even called a 'row'? Some or possibly none of these matters are explored during the film's running time.

To be honest – and stop me if you can tell – LAST DANCE never really gripped me. I don't remember much about DEAD MAN WALKING, but I'm sure it was better than this. (THE CHAMBER I can't remember whether I've seen or not, although I did read the book and thought it a lesser Grisham, certainly no Rainmaker or Firm or Time To Kill.) There's not much wrong with LAST DANCE, it's just kind of ... there.

Mid-movie, I started to wonder whether this should have been the actual BASIC INSTINCT 2. Catherine Tramell has been caught and convicted, awaiting corporal punishment for her multiple homicides. Stone could do her black widow thing on Morrow, manipulating him into busting her out. But then when they go on the run together (stopping off now and then for kinky motel-room romps), he can't be sure if she's going to stab him with an icepick next. But he keeps on shagging her silly all the same. It could even feature Michael Douglas's character from the first one in a cameo, giving evidence via video link from a home for retired sex-addicted cops.

As to the issue of Sharon Stone's acting talent? The jury's still out. But the appeal has been lodged. And the court is in session. And, um ... well, you get the idea with that one.

Three stars out of five.

 

 

Valid use of the word ‘last’?  She ain't dancing no more – tango or otherwise. Oh, and it turns out they have you lying down when they administer the lethal injection, not sitting in a chair. But 'get the gurney' doesn't have the same ring to it.

What would a movie called FIRST DANCE be about?  Maybe yet another alternate universe BASIC INSTINCT sequel. It begins with a wedding, but ends ... with a massacre!

 

Previously:  THE LAST DAYS ON MARS

Next time:  THE LAST MOVIE

Check out my books:  Jonathanlastauthor.com