'The Last Showgirl' review: Pamela Anderson leads a shattering ensemble as an aging burlesque entertainer

Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl is a spellbinding film about aging, made with tremendous texture and soul.

The wistful Vegas drama follows a fifty -something burlesque dancer in her career twilight, played by '90s sex symbol Pamela Anderson .

It's a story steeped in regret, but one that reckons with past mistakes as a common, perhaps even necessary experience.

The movie's use of 16mm celluloid yields film grain that dances, especially in low-lit interiors and against the backdrop of Vegas ' neon signs.

Pamela Anderson leads an incredible ensemble, including Demi Moore and Pamela Anderson .

Coppola's Wild West is the heightened cultural un -reality of the Las Vegas strip with its fake Eiffel Towers.

The Last Showgirl opens Dec. 13 in Los Angeles , and nationwide Jan. 10 .

The movie's sharpest commentary alongside casting Anderson is Bautista 's role as Eddie , the awkward, soft-spoken producer with a flowing mane.

Lourd , whose own mother was a huge part of show business, struggles to comprehend both her mother's desires and her sacrifices.