Last Dance

Last Dance is a 1996 crime drama about Rick Hayes, a young lawyer who joins a state clemency office and is given the case of Cindy Liggett, a woman sentenced to death for a killing committed twelve years earlier. As Rick examines the file, he questions whether the punishment still fits and whether irregularities in the case might justify clemency. His meetings with Cindy develop into a genuine friendship, while the scheduled execution approaches and the decision rests with those above him.

Bruce Beresford directed the film from a screenplay by Ron Koslow, with Steven Haft producing for Touchstone Pictures. It is the eleventh of the twenty films Beresford has directed, following Silent Fall and preceding Paradise Road. Sharon Stone plays Cindy Liggett and Rob Morrow plays Rick Hayes, heading a credited cast of twenty-three that includes Randy Quaid, Peter Gallagher, Jack Thompson and Jayne Brook.

Made for a budget reported at 41 million dollars, the film returned about 6 million dollars worldwide. Audience ratings are modest and consistent across platforms: 5.7 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly five thousand votes, and 5.7 out of 10 on TMDB from just over a hundred votes. A critics' rating of 5.2 out of 10 from twenty-three reviews places professional reaction slightly below the audience scores.