Último recurso

Susan Hayward set her standards so high as far as this kind of performance is concerned that every actress who tries her hand at the death row will fatally be compared to her.Robert Wise 's "I want to live" remains vivid in memory .But Sharon Stone walks out with honors.She's a genuine thespian here,giving up glamour,seduction and sophistication ,but not necessarily her basic instincts which led her to the death sentence.She displays restraint in her gestures and her words,her relationship with other inmates rings true,particularly with the black woman.Her interest in art drawing is credible.

Sadly,she's supported neither by the rest of the cast,nor by the plot.Her attentive escort is a rather bland actor,who seems more to go touring round the jail than care for his unfortunate protégée.And what a man!We learn that he is a young man of means whose fortune fluctuates as the years pass by.That's the main flaw:the movie would like to be realistic,it is melodramatic to the core.Outside the lawyer's story,we deal with a black convict,who redeemed himself in jail,who wrote a book,which became a best-seller,and he passed a law degree ,you name it...Alas poor Sharon/Cindy killed a wealthy man's son (and his girlfriend),but she was never given a chance ,being born on the wrong side of town.A glance into her aunt's "house" tells it all.That's too much.

There is a successful short scene.Morrow asks the female victim's mother to sign a petition;and although she's an adept of "thou shalt not kill",she refuses.Hardly one minute,but these few words say a lot more than the preachy chatter of the rest of the plot.But the "false " ending -and there's also a ridiculous Indian epilogue- gives the coup de grâce to the movie.

For me personally that is always a real torture to watch type of movies,like this was,I feel myself so lucky from some reasons why I had seen a movie,without the danger of somebody wants to execute me.

Sharon Stone is absolutely great in this role,and I saying this against,I'am absolutely not a fan of her acting,and movies.

All the way I have to say,be careful,and think again before you see this,cause this film is enough strong to change your mood,and maybe is not for everybody.

I feels like the script wants to be independent,about the question,but it is not work well all the time,but when they really wants to say they has personal opinions,that is also directly keeps distance.

7/10

So so film about death penalty. Full of cliches and emotional manipulation. Yes, you got it right, a definite tear jerker. So, not for me. But look! Isn't that Sharon Stone? Sure she is, beautiful as always. It's true, I sat trough the whole film just for her.

In case you're wondering, yes, "Last Dance" is clearly a film against capital punishment. But what makes it interesting is how it does not dwell on the morality of whether it's right or wrong to execute convicted criminals, but rather it focuses on the corruption of human government which uses lives for political manipulation. Whether you're in favor of capital punishment or not, we can all agree that we shouldn't send people to their deaths just so someone can win an election, right? That's the core theme of this film. One prisoner may be pardoned--why?--not because he's worthy but simply because the public likes him and will vote for any politician who will pardon him. Another prisoner may not be so politically valuable, so he ends up behind the 8 ball.

With this approach in mind, "Last Dance" leads us through a nightmarish labyrinth of human justice where innocence and guilt have nothing to do with punishment. Sharon Stone plays "Cindy" a condemned killer who brutally murdered two people 12 years prior. What follows is not an issue of whether she deserves to live or die, but it's an issue of whether her fate should be determined by a small handful of powerful people with only their own interests in mind.

There's a great line from the movie where one character shirks his responsibility with: "It's just the system" and another character responds "we ARE the system." Without devolving into a cartoonish conspiracy thriller, this film takes a broad and disturbing look at the ongoing failure of human justice. It's reminiscent of Orson Welles' masterpiece "The Trial" in the way that it doesn't accuse any individual culprit but rather the entire collective "system" which seems to perpetuate itself simply by people refusing to take a stand.

While there's not a lot of action, it's definitely a roller-coaster as our hero Ricky (Rob Morrow) struggles to set things right. Don't expect a fast paced flick with car chases and evil villains on his tail. No, this is the real world, and the only villains are his bosses, colleagues and politicians who thwart his progress by simply doing what they do every day.

Excellent acting by Sharon Stone makes you connect with her even though you remain fully aware that she is a killer. There's one fantastic scene in particular where you feel her exasperation come to a boil. It expresses the exasperation of American citizens who are so sick of corruption that they're ready to give up. Meanwhile "Ricky" symbolizes the spirit of the individual who is ready to fight it to the end.

Directed by Bruce Beresford, known for the sentimental "Driving Miss Daisy", this film definitely knows how to tug at your emotions. But at the same time it doesn't lose itself in sappy melodrama.

If movies like this interest you, I highly recommend "Monster" and the accompanying documentary "Aileen Wurnos: Life and Death of a Serial Killer". If you like films that explore the failure of the court system and why it fails, definitely check out the grandfather of such films "12 Angry Men", a slow yet riveting film set entirely within 1 room as jurors expose their own prejudices & selfish interests while deciding the fate of a young boy on trial. Films like these are practically historical documents as well as highly powerful cinema.

"Rick" (Rob Morrow) is an ambitious young attorney charged with what his bosses hope will be the routinely futile clemency case of "Cindy" (Sharon Stone) who is coming to the end of her wait on death row. Initially, she wants little to do with him, but gradually that relationship not only thaws but thrives as he starts to uncover some flaws that might help. What could have been quite a decent story, here, is really delivered in a by-the-numbers fashion. It is a rather pedestrian mystery that swipes at politics, racism and a general professional cynicism amongst his public service colleagues, but in such a lightweight fashion. Moreover, with the sword of Damocles dangling so perilously, there is a distinct lack of passion here. Stone is inherently limited by her role (being incarcerated) but Morrow is just weak, with a persona that though honest of intent, is really not anywhere near strong enough to carry this above a level of mediocrity that makes it all a bit flat and hollow.