Review: The Last Showgirl

Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

"The Last Showgirl" doubles as the best performance by Pamela Anderson and the best work to date from director Gia Coppola ("Palo Alto" and "The Seven Faces of Jane"), niece of Sofia and granddaughter of Francis Ford.

Anderson's work here as Shelly, one of the last of her types on the Las Vegas strip, is a genuine surprise. While some might think that Anderson taking on a stripped down, dramatic role like this is an example of attention seeking by all involved, they'd be wrong. It's an impressive piece of work from both the leading lady and director.

In the film, Shelly is a longtime performer in a Razzle Dazzle show, making her somewhat of a dinosaur in the modern world of live entertainment in Las Vegas, such as Cirque de Soleil or racier burlesque shows. A short way into the film, she is notified by longtime co-worker and friend Eddie (Dave Bautista) that the show will soon give its last performance to make way for a flashier, circus-like entertainment group at the casino where she works.

Although she pretends otherwise, Shelly has likely lived a life not completely without regrets, namely due to the fact that she gave up her child, Hannah (Billie Lourd), who mysteriously pops up early in the film, to live with relatives so that she could continue on in the Vegas show. She tells younger girls in the show that the Razzle Dazzle girls were once considered celebrities around town and that they'd grace the covers of magazines or be shuttled around the world for soirees.

But now, the company barely pulls in 20 people per performance and it'll soon be curtains up. Shelly is a mentor, of sorts, for a few of the younger girls in the show - Marianne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), whose background has some striking resemblances to Shelly's. Her best friend is a former showgirl named Annette (a brassy Jamie Lee Curtis), who now works two jobs, one of which involves her serving drinks in a bikini and occasionally doing dances to "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

If Shelly's life was once glamorous - at least, that's how she describes it - her present situation is far from it. She's no longer featured as prominently in the show, and when she is given a paycheck that was obviously smaller than expected, you can see the wheels turning as to how she'll pay the rent.

Meanwhile, Hannah is back in her life to a degree after having been raised elsewhere. Shelly's vague on details about who the father was, and there's some obvious tension between the two women that only later reaches a peak when Hannah confronts her after having finally watched her mother's show.

In some ways, "The Last Showgirl" follows a somewhat formulaic route, but its mood and tone are effective and the performances - especially Anderson and Curtis - are solid. Anderson, of course, is best known for her work on the long-running TV show "Baywatch" and she'd occasionally pop up in movies - such as "Barb Wire" - but it's great to see her nab a role that allows her to utilize her talent. It's one of the year's most surprising turns.

Review: The Damned

Image courtesy of Elation Pictures.

If you're looking for something to shake you out of your winter doldrums, I'm note sure that Thordur Palsson's "The Damned" will be the thing. Set in 1871 in Iceland, the film's chilly visual style combined with its gorgeous - but frigid - scenery made up of miles and miles of ice and snow might send shivers down your spine in more ways than one.

The film, which is the first release of 2025, is a horror movie, of sorts, although opinions as to whether it is a supernatural or psychological one may vary. Set in a remote spot, the film follows Eva (Odessa Young), a widow whose husband once ran a fishing station that she took over upon his death, and a group of men as they attempt to catch food for their community, where it is seemingly scarce. Due to the weather, they are unable to leave the spot until it clears up - which could be days or weeks.

One day while preparing to fish, they spot a foreign boat that has crashed in a treacherous spot between two rocks known as The Teeth. There's a debate as to whether they should attempt to save the boat's inhabitants, but the mission is deemed too risky. It's not too risky, however, to make their way out to the boat once they assume its crew is dead to see what they can scavenge.

Surprisingly, upon arriving at the scene of the boat, they realize that some of its crew members are still alive. They jump in the freezing water, hoping to be saved, but a struggle ensues to prevent these crew members from capsizing the boat and one of the foreigners is killed with an axe.

Eva and her crew flee back to their winter home with what they've plundered, but an older woman living there warns them of the draugr, ghost-like creatures of Nordic legend that emerge at night, are fueled by hatred, and attempt to get into their victims' heads. They are often borne out of a tragedy that results in revenge - such as the one involving the men at the crashed boat. 

Shortly thereafter, members of Eva's group begin disappearing or winding up dead. It's difficult to tell whether they're being haunted or - much like in "The Shining" - the isolation, with the addition of some guilt regarding their actions, is causing them to lose their minds. The men begin to turn on each other and one of them counsels Eva that "the living are more dangerous than the dead." A sort-of plot twist late in the film makes the viewer question how much that has been taking place is psychological, rather than literal.

I'll give credit where it's due: "The Damned" is long on atmosphere and has some great locales. On the other hand, it tends to drag a bit at various points after the visit to the boat, becoming yet another in a long line of horror movies in which groups of people are haunted or tormented by something they've brought on themselves and begin dropping like flies. Young is a solid lead and the rest of the cast - which includes Rory McCann of "Game of Thrones" and Joe Cole of "Peaky Blinders" - is good as well.

But other than its locations and cinematography, "The Damned" doesn't offer much that hasn't been done before in this genre. It's intermittently engrossing and well-enough made, but I believe that the best work of this director - who has obvious talent - is likely ahead of him.