A beloved bar provides a vivid backdrop for writer/director Hayden Mclean’s heartfelt period short The Last Dance. In 1997 East London, Fox Wilson (Karl Collins) is staring down the end of an era. He has run the LA Bar, a home base for the local Caribbean community, for over 2 decades. When a compulsory purchase order threatens the future of Fox’s bar, his family and loved ones come together to commemorate and honor their history with one last dance.
The Last Dance, boasting an impressive Oscar-qualifying international festival run including a nomination for Best UK Short at Raindance, is a simultaneously poignant and joyful story about a community in a period of transition. Long before we reach the end credits, which feature photos of the real-life family members that served as the basis for Mclean’s script, it’s clear that this is a very personal film. Fox, inspired by Mclean’s grandfather, serves as a symbol, a member of the Windrush generation who emigrated from Jamaica following World War II. His journey is a familiar one, as he and his lovingly built community must confront the cold destructive force of gentrification.
Thanks to the rich history that Mclean has used as inspiration, the world feels immediately lived in, characters and relationships clear and well-drawn as Fox and family each grapple with losing the bar. Fox and his friends, the LA Bar regulars, have fought to make their place in London. While resigned and angry to lose a piece of their culture, they understand that the community will survive even if the bar cannot. They’re ready to celebrate the LA Bar, giving the place the love of a proper sendoff. Conversely, Paul (McLean), Fox’s headstrong London-born son, struggles to look past his anger, putting him into conflict with his father. Paul hasn’t had to learn how to rebuild the way the generation before him did, so he can’t see what lies beyond the bar. Mclean has crafted a layered and compelling script, one that could be expanded into a feature film.
The entire cast is strong, anchored by Collins’ beautiful performance as Fox. He deftly navigates the film’s emotional roller coaster as he goes through the strange and painful process of both losing his business and celebrating its legacy. He manages to depict both devastation and ebullience without feeling overwrought. Collins’ has an easy and natural chemistry with Mclean and Martina Laird, who plays his wife Blanche, love underpinning all of their interactions even when they’re getting under each other’s skin.
Joel Honeywell’s cinematography is wonderfully immersive, dynamic and energetic camera movements bringing the audience into the thick of the action as they get LA Bar ready for its final farewell. Largely keeping the actors in closeup, we are given an intimate look at both the pain and joy that thrums through the air as they inch closer to their last dance.
From the film’s opening shot, a close-up of Fox’s radio as he tunes it in his bedroom, it’s clear that music is central to the Wilson family and the other members of their community. The film’s music supervisors, Iain Cooke and Bethany Marshall, carefully blend vibrant reggae music with Ben Stanbridge’s reserved and touching score, building an audio landscape that gives rich dimension to their world and culture. Whether we’re watching Fox alone with his radio, or a sea of jubilantly dancing bodies celebrating their last night at LA Bar, the film’s reverence for music feels tied to a love and respect for Fox and Mclean’s Caribbean culture.
With The Last Dance, Mclean has mined his personal history for a heartfelt film about a neighborhood in flux. An intimate slice of life story about one family’s struggle becomes a loving celebration to the London Caribbean community and their ability to persevere.
