Pamela Anderson shines in Moving The Last Showgirl by Gia Coppola

“I’m older, I’m not old,” says Shelley, the oldest performer in a dated Las Vegas revue. She’s played by Pamela Anderson, the international icon who has never, ever had a role like this. Shelley is 57, living paycheck to paycheck, estranged from her daughter and extremely vulnerable. Clearly, this is a long way from the beaches of Baywatch and an action show that was Barbed wire. And Anderson is one of the main reasons why Gia Coppola The Last Dancer is a remarkable film. But it’s not a set-up. It’s a genuine performance, and Shelley is one of the most memorable Vegas residents in recent cinema.

Shelley’s Las Vegas is the Vegas of broken dreams and empty pockets, stripped of all artifice and bathed in a fiery light. Coppola, whose early efforts Palo Alto And General public The show has shown great promise, and writer Kate Gersten has a deep understanding of the city’s backstage world. Steady jobs are hard to come by, so Shelley is shaken by the news that her show, Razzle Dazzle, is being replaced by a circus-themed act. The circus has already taken over Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, much to the dismay of the performers.

She’s the mother of a group of dancers that includes young performers played by the stellar Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song. Also nearby is Annette, a copper-skinned dancer turned cocktail waitress played by a bronzed (and hilarious) Jamie Lee Curtis. And finally, there’s “dad,” the kind and gentle stage manager Eddie—Dave Bautista plays him with a beard and Joe Eszterha mane, and he’s never been better—who delivers the bad news that Razzle Dazzle is about to say goodbye.

No one takes the news harder than Shelley, who has been the face of the show (literally) for decades. In fact, the show has been her life — even more so than her college-aged daughter, played beautifully by Billie Lourd. The scenes between Anderson and Lourd are, like much of the film itself, heartbreakingly believable. Shelley is sweet and maternal, but deeply flawed; Gersten’s script isn’t afraid to show her as a woman forced to choose her career over her family. It was an unfair situation, but Gersten and Coppola realize that it’s the reality for many mothers.

One of the strongest elements of The Last Dancer The film focuses on the minutiae of the daily lives of Las Vegas performers: preparing to go on stage, struggling to get into their costumes, discussing the ups and downs of a dancer’s life. This subtle approach makes for a narrative that is sometimes aimless. It works on the level of an intimate, character-driven drama, and it’s impressive how Coppola’s film develops a real, believable sense of family for a group of characters whose home lives are shattered or destroyed. Shipka has one of the most devastating scenes in the film, in which she explains to Shelley that she never thought leaving home meant she couldn’t return. The scene is particularly painful because Shelley is burdened with her own problems and mercilessly pushes her young friend away.

It’s a pleasure to see Anderson play scenes like this; she deserves more roles like Shelley. The same can be said of Bautista. After her work in Blade Runner 2049, Dune, Knock on the cabinand there’s no denying that he’s a remarkably strong actor. Anderson, Bautista, Lourd, Shipka, Song, and Curtis are a dynamic group, and Coppola gives each actor his or her moment(s) to shine. The director also takes great care to avoid the more obvious Las Vegas vistas that are so often seen on screen. Coppola is less interested in the city’s twinkling lights than in the camera lingering on Anderson’s face, a mix of heartbreaking optimism and deep pain. The result is a smart and emotionally satisfying exploration of people who may no longer have a place in modern Las Vegas. Coppola sees the end of shows like Razzle Dazzle as the end of an era. It’s both enjoyable and moving to see her capture that world before it’s gone.

The Last Dancer premiered at TIFF 2024.