Last Dance (1996)

Sharon Stone plays a death-row inmate in search of clemency in Bruce Beresford’s engrossing legal drama Last Dance (1996). Following closely on the heels of Dead Man Walking (1996), Beresford’s film chronicles the plight of Cindy Liggett (Stone), a young woman sentenced to death for killing two high-school students during a drug-fueled rage. As the convict’s final hours approach, a well-meaning lawyer (Rob Morrow) swoops in to try to prove that Liggett got a raw deal in court. Beresford’s film is set largely behind bars, but he does venture out for a couple of key scenes. Co-star Mimi Craven cuts loose with a seductive bit of pole dancing that makes up for the fact that Stone spends so much of the film in a baggy jumpsuit.