The Last Dance

The Last Dance is set around 90s East London, when Fox’s (Karl Collins) “LA Bar” is hit with a compulsory purchase order, a monumental cornerstone of Caribbean Life around this time period. As the city begins to forget, the loving community band together for a last dance to look back on the longing and defiance of the area. The film is a profound love letter to the Caribbean community in the 1990s and a heartwarming true story.

The rich attention to detail within the entire production value is astounding, as the piece feels timeless in its presentation, with a distinct love for the material. The writer-director Hayden Mclean directly pays tribute to his father, and his well-rounded knowledge of Caribbean life is evident in the film. Joel Honeywell’s cinematography is beautiful and intimate, serving as a device to enhance scenes of reflection. He consistently captures a sense of awe towards the community and the chemistry-laden cast of characters. It can, at times, tug on the heartstrings with a helping hand of empathy extended to the community and their experiences in East London. Ben Stanbridge’s musical score is achingly haunting and beautiful, with its low-key and hypnotic themes that anchor sequences of partying and the characters embracing each other one last time. On the other hand, the use of needle drops is equally impressive as they are suitably placed throughout with the use of reggae music that fits the setting and time period. The piece is truly visually stunning and firing on all cylinders in the technical department.

Unfortunately, specific segments of the narrative meander as the characters attempt to find solutions to keeping the bar open, and the lack of runtime is a detriment to the experience, with minimal characterisation for many of the cast. Perhaps reworking the narrative into a feature film could enhance the richness of the characters and flesh out specific ideas that the filmmakers wanted to convey more deeply. However, even with its minimal runtime and budget restraints, it's still incredibly emotionally resonant as it is devastating to witness a loving group of people lose their safe space due to awful circumstances. The performances across the board are phenomenal, in particular Karl Collins in his portrayal of Fox. He exhibits a profound level of leadership and restraint in his love for his family and community that looks up to him, and it's particularly tough to witness his world crumble around him. The supporting cast’s chemistry is really what holds the piece together as they genuinely feel like family with their naturalistic presence, and this keeps the narrative compelling as it draws to a close.

Sadly, the conclusion to the piece leaves a lot to be desired, with perhaps an intentional lack of payoff; however, since there is only minor time spent with the characters, the ending feels anticlimactic and not as fulfilling as one may hope. Still, it's impressive how much was accomplished within the brief runtime. It is just a shame it doesn't aptly stick the landing, as this clearly has the building blocks to be a complete home run with the talent involved.

The Last Dance is an emotionally overwhelming love letter to Caribbean life in the 90s, accompanied by a plethora of outstanding technical aspects and incredible performances. A touching narrative about community, loss and family that boasts visually stunning camerawork and shines a profoundly empathetic light on an underrepresented group of people.