The Last Days of Disco Review
by "David Wilcock" (david DOT wilcock AT btinternet DOT com)October 5th, 1998
THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO
(WARNER BROTHERS)
RUNNING TIME: 1 HOUR 53 MINUTES
STARRING CHLOE SEVIGNY AND KATE BECKINSALE.
DIRECTED BY WHIT STILLMAN
An entertaining 2 hours awaits the audience in this film set in the early 80's. Sevigny and Beckinsale play disco chicks Alice and Charlotte, who are on the lookout for love. Alice is mousy, shy, intellectual, Charlotte is bitchy, out-going and fun. We join their adventures as they go through a variety of adventures, and men, all to the background of the local disco.
Whit Stillman has both written and directed an interesting and believable story. Alice and Charlotte are both well written characters, and the actresses who play them aren't bad aswell. Sevigny delivers an honest performance, and makes the audience feel for her character. Beckinsale plays extreme bitch personified, yet her character never becomes completely unlikeable. The huge supporting cast also play a part in making sure this movie is thoroughly entertaining. The dialogue is sharp and well written, with many funny set pieces. For example, there's a great discussion about Lady & The Tramp by the main characters. The disco tunes playing in the background also make sure that this admittedly long film is good fun.
The direction is good, bringing out the drama and comedy in the scenes. But their are slight flaws with the movie. Firstly, although it is supposedly set in the 80's, the characters are very, very 90's. The way they dress and act have a very 90's feel to them. Although the male hairstyles look slightly 80's, frankly the 80's atmosphere just wasn't conveyed, which is a shame. Also, as mentioned above, the film is too long, and some parts do lag. The charm of the characters do help these moments, but generally the editing could of been a bit tighter. The plot also side-tracks into a silly cocaine dealing bust, which seemed out of place in this movie. Finally, their are almost too many characters in the film, and despite the running time, the film never really spends enough time on them. Some of the characters are very slight, which is a shame. The conclusion, while funny, is also surprisingly weak, and certainly not strong enough.
But despite these qualms, The Last Days of Disco is a funny, warm movie, which is certainly worth seeing, and is a fitting homage to the disco era of the 80's. Worth a look.
OVERALL RATING=***1/2 OUT OF *****
REVIEW BY DAVID WILCOCK ©1998
DAVID WILCOCK
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