SummaryIn the last months of the disco era, a popular dance club becomes the center of nightlife for a group of young people who recently arrived in Manhattan. [Castle Rock]
SummaryIn the last months of the disco era, a popular dance club becomes the center of nightlife for a group of young people who recently arrived in Manhattan. [Castle Rock]
Stillman brings his usual sharp wit to this exploration of upper-middle-class angst, completing the comic trilogy he began with "Metropolitan" and "Barcelona."
The director isn't much on orgies; he's all talk. But that's good, not bad, because his talk is so brilliant. Stillman is the Balzac of the ironic class, the Dickens of people with too much inner life.
Castle Rock, the studio that produced the film, wanted a big name to star in the "Alice" role. They put in a call to Winona Ryder's agent with a firm offer. In the meantime, Chloe Sevigny read for the part and was perfect for the role, according to Whit Stillman. They were able to get out of the offer to Ryder because her agent took four days to return the call.
A small miracle of comic social portraiture, a sometimes affectionate, sometimes ironic study of a specific group at a specific moment. His work is deeply evocative and enjoyable.
There's something kind of sweet about Stillman's enthusiasm for the long-despised era's thumping backbeat, even if the rhythm of his own work is a lot closer to chamber music.
Eavesdropping on the glib conversations of witty urbanites can be a pleasant diversion, but after so much volubility, you might find yourself wishing that they would all just shut up and dance.
Greatly underestimated this film... the nostalgia of the music, the outfits... this was wonderfully acted by the whole cast... also, I am a huge Chloë Sevigny fan and she was absolutely delightful.
The Last Days of Disco is a fantastic film.from director Whit Stillman. A thoroughly perplexing film, Stillman weaves in many different characters and ideologies into this film. Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale are fantastic here as foils (or are they?) in Stillman's wonderful look at friendships, relationships, and youth, set against the backdrop of the end of disco. At times, Stillman's packed dialogue filled with wordy attempts at brilliance can come off as awkward or pretentious, but in reality, they are astute critique of the type of individuals who say these types of things. For this and many other reasons, The Last Days of Disco is a brilliant exercise and an even better character study into these broken, envious, fake, human beings who like to present a facade of themselves that bears no resemblance with reality. Overall, The Last Days of Disco is a slyly comedic and thoroughly riveting social satire.