Synopsis

Cindy Liggett has spent twelve years on death row for a double murder committed in her teens. When young attorney Rick Hayes takes on her clemency case, he argues that drug addiction and personal change deserve consideration. Cindy, however, has lost hope and no longer wants to fight. As Rick learns who she has become, their professional relationship develops into an intense bond before the state makes its final decision.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was released by Touchstone Pictures on May 3, 1996, and runs 103 minutes.

• Although the story takes place in an unspecified Southern state, production used locations in Nashville, Eddyville, Kentucky, and Ridgeland, South Carolina.

• A newly built prison in Ridgeland that had not yet opened was temporarily transformed into the fictional Bridgeland prison for filming.

• The closing images at the Taj Mahal were filmed on location in India, giving Cindy's artwork a visual connection to the film's final journey.

• Last Dance arrived less than a year after Dead Man Walking, another prominent death-penalty drama. The comparison affected the film's critical reception, with reviewers frequently viewing it as the more conventional treatment of similar material.

• The film had a reported $41 million budget but earned approximately $5.9 million domestically, making it a major box-office disappointment.