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Feb 10, 2016 · The Last Days of Disco (1998) Whit Stillman
- 3 min
- 23.2K
- Alejandro F. Moreno
The Cast. Ted Boynton – Taylor Nichols. Fred Boynton – Chris Eigeman. Montserrat – Tushka Bergen. Marta – Mira Sorvino. Ramon – Pep Munne. Greta – Hellena Schmied. Autora Boval – Nuria Badia. Dickie Taylor – Thomas Gibson. The Consul – Jack Gilpin. Young Doctor – Pere Ponce. Ted’s Assistant – Laura Lopez. Frank – Francis Creighton.
- Overview
- Plot
- Cast
The Last Days of Disco is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman, and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. Starring Chloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale, the film follows a group of Ivy League and Hampshire Collegegraduates falling in and out of love in the disco scene of New York City in the early 1980s.
The Last Days of Disco is the third film (following Metropolitan and Barcelona) 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 for Disco was originally conceived after the shooting of Barcelona's disco scenes. In 2000, Stillman published a novelization of the film.
In the "very early 1980s", Alice Kinnon and Charlotte Pingress, recent Hampshire 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 a railroad 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 on Buddhism, written by the Dalai 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 has gonorrhea, 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 her herpes.
Josh Neff, a district 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 to Barcelona. 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.
•Chloë Sevigny as Alice Kinnon: One of two main characters, a quiet, passive but intelligent young woman working as a book editor in Manhattan. She and Charlotte, frequent companions, work for the same publisher and attended a prestigious college together.
•Kate Beckinsale as Charlotte Pingress: The other main character, a rather narcissistic and shallow person. She constantly offers "advice" to Alice and criticizes her lack of sociability. She is outgoing but dominating of those around her.
•Chris Eigeman as Des McGrath: A manager at the disco Alice and Charlotte frequent, casually dating Alice at one point. He provides comic relief in many sequences and provides much insight in conversations. He is intelligent but somewhat conniving, and hooks up with many women, with a routine of pretending to come out as homosexual when he has lost interest in them.
•Mackenzie Astin as Jimmy Steinway: An ambitious friend of Des who works in advertising. Jimmy has to sneak his way into the disco in costume because the house owner doesn't want "those kind of people" in the club. He dates Charlotte.
•Matt Keeslar as Josh Neff: An assistant district attorney who takes an interest in Alice. Upon his introduction to Alice at the disco, he is rudely interrupted by Charlotte, who pushes him away. Alice eventually begins a relationship with him, and comes to learn that he suffers from manic depressive disorder.
•Robert Sean Leonard as Tom Platt: A charming, wealthy environmental lawyer with whom Alice has a one-night stand. He gained interest in Alice after meeting her at the disco but proved to not be relationship material. In her sexual encounter with him, Alice contracts both gonorrhea and herpes.
Creative Closing Credits/Dance Party Ending: The ending credit sequence shows people on the subway and even people on platforms dancing to "Love Train". Dueling Movies : This movie was released just four months before 54 .
The Last Days of Disco: Directed by Whit Stillman. With Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman, Mackenzie Astin. Story of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO is a Pilgrim’s Progress of a particular subgroup of not-quite-innocents from the era, recent college graduates who were — maybe — smart academically but merely no dumber than everyone else when it comes to their own lives.
Jul 8, 2012 · The Last Days of Disco is an affectionate yet unsentimental look at the end of an era, brimming with Stillman's trademark dry humor.
