| The Last Days of Disco | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Whit Stillman |
| Written by | Whit Stillman |
| Produced by | Whit Stillman |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Thomas |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Mark Suozzo |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million[2] |
| Box office | $3 million[3] |
The Last Days of Disco is a 1998 Americancomedy-drama film written and directed byWhit Stillman, and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs inManhattan, includingStudio 54. StarringChloë Sevigny andKate Beckinsale, the film follows a group ofIvy League andHampshire College graduates falling in and out of love in the disco scene ofNew York City in the early 1980s.
The Last Days of Disco is the third film (followingMetropolitan andBarcelona) in what Stillman calls his "Doomed-Bourgeois-in-Love series". The three films are independent of each other except for cameo appearances of some common characters. According to Stillman, the idea forDisco was originally conceived after the shooting ofBarcelona's disco scenes. In 2000, Stillman published anovelization of the film.
The film was released theatrically in the United States on June 12, 1998; its DVD and video releases followed in 1999.[4] The DVD releases eventually went out of print, and the film was widely unavailable for home video purchase until it was picked up byThe Criterion Collection and released in a director-approved special edition on August 25, 2009.[5] Along withMetropolitan andBarcelona, a print ofThe Last Days of Disco resides in the permanent film library of theMuseum of Modern Art.[6]
In the "very early 1980s", Alice Kinnon and Charlotte Pingress, recentHampshire College graduates, work as poorly paid readers for a New York City publisher. After work one night, they enter an exclusive disco nightclub where Alice hopes to socialize with Jimmy Steinway, who uses the club to entertain his advertising clients. Barred from bringing clients, Jimmy is eventually kicked out by his friend Des McGrath, a manager at the club whose job is in jeopardy for allowing in Jimmy and his clients. After Jimmy leaves, Alice takes Charlotte's advice to go home with her second choice, Tom Platt. At work the next morning, Alice and Charlotte ask other editors how to fast-track their careers. Unable to afford rent on their own, they move in together with a third girl, Holly. Despite Alice's reluctance, they settle on arailroad apartment.
Returning to the club, Alice is upset to learn Charlotte has designs on Jimmy and that Tom was separated from a long-term girlfriend when he slept with Alice but their one-night stand convinced him to return to her. Des begins to pursue Alice.
At work, Alice pursues the publication of a book onBuddhism, written by theDalai Lama's brother, that Charlotte had previously recommended rejecting and gains the editors' respect. It is discovered that the author is not the Dalai Lama's brother, but Alice maintains the book is one of the best she has ever read. Charlotte, now dating Jimmy, is openly insecure about his and Alice's apparent friendliness.
Charlotte loudly announces to various friends at the club that Alice hasgonorrhea, deducing it when Alice refuses to drink. She immediately apologizes but tells Alice it will make men view her as more accessible. Des does become more interested in being with Alice and they start dating casually.
Alice has dinner with Tom and confronts him about giving her gonorrhea, which he initially denies but Alice reveals he was her first sexual partner. He admits he also gave herherpes.
Josh Neff, adistrict attorney and friend of Jimmy's who frequently attends the club, asks Alice to lunch to pitch a book. He confesses he is actually interested in Alice and they go on a real date, where he tells her he is on medication for manic depression. Returning home, Alice discovers Charlotte being taken away in an ambulance and is told by Jimmy that he is moving toBarcelona. At the hospital, Charlotte asks Alice if Jimmy ever expressed interest in being with her. When Alice admits that he did, Charlotte reacts with tears and tells her she would like her to move out of their shared apartment.
Police raid the club for tax fraud and Des tries to run away despite Josh's promise to protect him, believing Josh's interest in Alice will cause him to act unfairly. They later discover that disco records are not selling anymore and attendance is already down.
Alice and Charlotte learn their employer has merged with a larger publishing house and layoffs are expected. Some time later, Charlotte, Josh and Des are seen leaving the unemployment office. Josh announces he is going toLutèce for lunch, treated by Alice, who is celebrating her promotion and her book that was published after she switched it fromnonfiction toself-help. Des and Charlotte discuss how their big personalities are too much for normal people like Alice, Josh and Jimmy. Des says that pairing off monogamously detracts from their glamorous lifestyle and Charlotte agrees.
Taking the subway to Lutèce, Alice and Josh discuss their future prospects and then dance to "Love Train", joined by the rest of the passengers on the train and at the subway station.
The idea for the film reportedly came to Stillman after filming the disco scenes in his previous film,Barcelona. Stillman, who had frequented the New York discos in the 1970s and 1980s, announced the project soon thereafter, and interest from a handful of film distributors and actors sprouted before the film had been written. According to Stillman in the 2009audio commentary for the film, various actors (many of them reportedly "big names") were interested in the project from its original conception;Ben Affleck was originally looking into playing the role of Des, but Stillman, who had worked withChris Eigeman before, gave him the role instead. Beckinsale, who was living in England at the time, mailed an audition tape to Stillman; he was immediately mesmerized and cast her in the role of Charlotte. The leading role of Alice Kinnon took the longest to cast—it originally was going to go to an unnamed European actress, but according to Stillman, she resembled Beckinsale too much and also had a non-American accent that caused complications.[7]Winona Ryder was subsequently offered the role through her agent. The call was placed by studio executives on a Monday. The film's editor, Chris Tellefsen, who had previously worked as the editor ofKids, recommended Chloë Sevigny after seeing her performance in that film. Two days after the phone call was placed to Ryder's agent, Sevigny, who had been given the script through her agent, auditioned for the role and won it. By the time Ryder's agent returned the call, Sevigny had already been cast.[7]
Principal photography began on August 12 and ended on October 27, 1997.[8] Filming took place in various New York City locations, and the structure used for the disco wasLoew's Jersey Theatre inJersey City, New Jersey, which was beingrenovated. The filmmakers had to share the location with another film production that took place there beforehand. The other production paid for the red carpeting used in the building, and the rest of the interior was designed and paid for by Stillman's crew.[7]
The film's distributor had also pushed the filmmakers to complete the film and get it released before theMiramax disco club film54, and it was;54 was released in US cinemas in late August 1998, two months after the theatrical debut ofThe Last Days of Disco.[7]
Like Stillman's other films,The Last Days of Disco deals withsocial structure,sexual politics,[9] and group dynamics. The relationships that bloom from the club are often expressed through long dialogue sequences, with Stillman's trademarkdry humor and "sharp lines"[10] often blurted, especially by Charlotte and Josh.
The Last Days of Disco was theatrically released on June 12, 1998, in US theaters, where it grossed $277,601 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $3 million in North America.[3] With a production budget of $8 million, the film was considered a financial failure, although it was well received by many critics. It was received better than the critically panned54, which dealt with the Manhattan discoStudio 54.
The Last Days of Disco received generally positive reviews from critics.Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 73% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[11]Metacritic gives it a 76 out of 100 rating, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
Film criticRoger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of four and wrote: "If[F.] Scott Fitzgerald were to return to life, he would feel at home in a Whit Stillman movie. Stillman listens to how people talk, and knows what it reveals about them".[13] In her review forThe New York Times,Janet Maslin praised Eigeman's performance: "Mr. Eigeman makes the filmmaker a perfect mouthpiece who can brood amusingly about anything, no matter how petty. Here he plumbs the psychological subtext ofLady and the Tramp".[14] In his review forThe New York Observer,Andrew Sarris wrote: "Mr. Stillman's free ticket with the critics for the seemingly magical minimalism ofMetropolitan has long since expired. In his future projects, all the charm and buoyancy in the world may not compensate for a lack of structure and bedrock reality".[15]
Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A− grade;Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote that "Stillman's gang may be maturing precariously close to middle age, but it's lovely to know the important pleasures of conversation and intellectual discussion endure".[16] In his review for theLos Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan praised the "exceptional acting ensemble" for being "successful at capturing the brittle rituals of this specific group of genteel, well-spoken young people on the cusp of adulthood who say things like 'What I was craving was a sentient individual' and 'It's far more complicated and nuanced than that'".[17]
Stillman did not direct another film untilDamsels in Distress (2012).
According to Sevigny in a 2009audio commentary track for the film, her performance inThe Last Days of Disco—particularly the upbeat dance sequence finale in the subway—got the attention of directorKimberly Peirce, who cast Sevigny inBoys Don't Cry (1999). Sevigny received an Oscar nomination for her performance in that film, but said that of all the films she's made,The Last Days of Disco is the one "people come up to me about" the most.
Sevigny also said that she became good friends on set with co-star Subkoff, with whom she remained close after shooting.[7] The two worked together on a fashion line calledImitation of Christ in 2003, along withScarlett Johansson.[18]
The film was accessioned by the film library at theMuseum of Modern Art in New York City, where it is sometimes screened to the public. It was last shown at the museum'sPop Rally event in August 2009, with Stillman, Eigeman, and Subkoff present for a question-and-answer session after the screening.[19] An after-party in celebration of the screening was also advertised and held that evening.
Stillman wrote a novelization of the film published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux under the same title, with the added subtitle "...With Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards". It won the 2014 Prix Fitzgerald Award.[20]
| The Last Days of Disco | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | May 26, 1998 |
| Genre | Disco |
| Label | Sony |
The film was released onVHS andDVD in 1999 throughImage Entertainment. The DVD release included the film's original theatrical trailer as its sole bonus feature.
After being unavailable for home media purchase for some time, the film was rereleased in 2009 for theCriterion Collection DVD series in a restored version Stillman approved. It was the 485th film in the series.[21][22] Stillman's first film,Metropolitan, was also released in the Criterion series. The Criterion release ofThe Last Days of Disco includedaudio commentary by Stillman, Sevigny, and Eigeman; four deleted scenes; a promotional making-of featurette; an audio recording of Stillman reading a passage from his novelization; a still gallery with a text narrative by Stillman; and the originaltheatrical trailer. A liner essay by novelistDavid Schickler was also included as a paper insert.
The Criterion DVD's cover features an illustration by French artistPierre Le-Tan,[23] depicting Beckinsale and Sevigny preparing themselves in the powder room before entering the disco; the painting is a replication of a scene in the film. Criterion released aBlu-ray on July 24, 2012.[24]
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
