Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.
Flashdance is a glossy, MTV-era dance film that lives more on style and energy than substance. The plot is thin and formulaic — a working-class dreamer chasing her ballet ambitions — with underdeveloped characters and a predictable romantic subplot. Acting is serviceable at best, with Jennifer Beals carrying charisma but limited dramatic range. Cinematography is a genuine strength, with slick, inventive music video-style sequences and iconic imagery that defined the decade's visual aesthetic. Novelty earns a solid mark for its pioneering fusion of pop music video culture with narrative film, a genuinely distinctive voice for its time that influenced countless successors. The ending is crowd-pleasing and emotionally satisfying if somewhat conventional in its resolution.