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=
review by david wilcock ? 1998
” you know , for kids ” – norville barnes