Pamela Anderson is perfectly cast as an exotic dancer but The Last Showgirl lets her down

After years of not being taken seriously, Pamela Anderson finds the perfect role as an ageing exotic dancer – it’s a pity the movie isn’t as good as her, writes Leigh Paatsch.

From a stunning turn by Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl to a heartwarming Swedish documentary, there’s plenty of offer at the movies this week.

THE LAST SHOWGIRL (M)

Pamela Anderson as an ageing exotic dancer in The Last Showgirl.

Director: Gia Coppola (Palo Alto)

Starring: Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Cutis, Kiernan Shipka

★★½

What happens in Vegas won’t always stay in Vegas

There can be no disputing the fact Pamela Anderson is giving her absolute all to her role as a fading Las Vegas icon in The Last Showgirl.

After enduring several decades of never once being taken seriously as a performer, the former “babe from Baywatch” seizes her opportunity to reveal and deploy the best of her acting talent.

There’s little chance of anyone walking away from The Last Showgirl unimpressed by the sheer commitment and craft Anderson consistently pours into her character.

However, there is every chance most will leave The Last Showgirl disappointed by a movie that fails to consistently capitalise upon such fine work.

Pamela Anderson turns in a career best performance in The Last Showgirl.

Anderson has been perfectly cast in the leading part of Shelly, a once-famous exotic dancer who has been a mainstay of the topless casino revue Le Razzle Dazzle for three decades.

No-one appears to have informed Shelly of the possibility that this old-fashioned burlesque show could be on its last legs.

So when word comes down from venue management that Le Razzle Dazzle will close forever inside of a fortnight, poor Shelly is like a deer in the headlights, completely clueless about what to do next.

It is not as if her inner circle of friends will be offering anything resembling sage advice.

Annette (a remarkable Jamie Lee Curtis) was once a star of Le Razzle Dazzle herself, but now she is barley making minimum wage as a cocktail waitress at the casino.

Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) are current members of the Le Razzle Dazzle ensemble, and are too busy making their own next movies to assist Shelly with hers.

Le Razzle Dazzle producer Eddie (a quietly spoken Dave Bautista) might have some leads for Shelly, but their past of fleeting former lovers might also get in the way.

The Last Showgirl has been beautifully filmed.

While the characters established early on in The Last Showgirl remain vividly authentic throughout, the story that connects them continually comes across as frustratingly vague.

The script’s enigmatic tendencies continually undermine Anderson’s performance, as evidenced by an awkward clutch of scenes involving an adult daughter from which Shelly has been long estranged.

It must be stated that The Last Showgirl has been beautifully filmed, often in an hypnotising, handheld style that often makes it seem as if we can see the last traces of Vegas’ glittering glamour vanishing forever.

The Last Showgirl is in cinemas now

THE LAST JOURNEY (PG)

Son and father Filip and Lars in Swedish documentary The Last Journey.

★★★★

General release

This beautiful documentary will effortlessly delight and sincerely move anyone who takes the trouble to track it down in coming weeks. This is the story of an 80-year-old man named Lars Hammer, a much-loved former schoolteacher in a Swedish small town in which he has lived his entire life. Upon retirement, Lars slowly slipped into a certain state of depression that can overwhelm those who have enjoyed rich and rewarding working lives.

Shocked by the ailing state of his father, Lars’ son Filip (a well-known filmmaker and media host in Sweden) takes it upon himself to reconnect his dad with everything he loved about life. This prompts a hastily improvised road trip to France, where several key events and details from family holidays of the past will be lovingly recreated for Lars’ benefit.

Sure, it sounds a trifle corny – and many a scene comes off as a mite too convenient for the cameras present – but there can be no denying the direct and constant connection the movie forges between Lars and the viewer. Only the hardest-hearted types could fail to side with this truly endearing old soul as he tries his hardest to become the best version of himself once more.

I’M STILL HERE (M)

Oscar-nominee Fernanda Torres in I'm Still Here.

★★★½

Selected cinemas

A poignant, yet powerful political drama, I’m Still Here has drawn plenty of accolades on the awards circuit this season, culminating in a Best Actress nomination for its leading lady, Fernanda Torres, and a Best Picture nomination (a rarity for a South American production). The movie is closely based on the real-life experiences of Eunice Paiva, a Brazilian woman who fought for decades to discover what became of her husband after he was kidnapped by her country’s military dictatorship in the early 1970s.

Director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) masterfully recreates life under an oppressive regime as it threatened to crush Eunice and her young family. While still in a clear state of shock about the disappearance of her ex-politician husband Rubens, the remarkable Eunice (played with a genuinely charismatic strength by Torres) somehow marshals the will to track down the truth.

Eunice’s odyssey is a long and winding one – she later trains to become a lawyer to aid her solitary quest – and the movie’s laconic pacing can often seem as if it is downplaying the urgency of her mission. Nevertheless, this is headstrong, heartfelt world cinema at its finest.

Originally published as Pamela Anderson is perfectly cast as an exotic dancer but The Last Showgirl lets her down