If someone were to ask you who you associate with a red swimsuit, chances are there would probably be one name you would come up with – Pamela Anderson.

The actress came to prominence with her role as C.J. Parker in the cheesy US show Baywatch. It’s a part that has not only defined her career, but made her a cultural icon in the process. And this despite the fact that even though she has appeared in other things – and by all means try to name them (you can only think of Barb Wire, right?) – it’s that one role in that show that first aired in 1992, which she is still known for.

That probably won’t change, but this role may well sit alongside it, starring as she does as an aging Las Vegas performer.

There’s a reason why Las Vegas is the tourist trap that it is, with its casinos and its flashing neon lights, and all the shows to go and see.

One of the shows on the strip is Le Razzle Dazzle, where showgirl Shelly (Anderson) works, has been running for nearly 40 years, and she’s been a part of it for so many of them.

But time has taken its toll on the show, which hasn’t moved with the times, forcing stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) to announce to the girls that the show will be closing.

It’s bad news for all the young girls in the show, but being over 50, what is there left for Shelly to do?

This is the third feature for Gia Coppola, Francis Ford’s Granddaughter, surprisingly made without the aid of his American Zoetrope studio – but that might have something to do with his extraordinary flop, that he mainly financed himself Megalopolis.

It’s a remarkable feature, which was somehow shot in only 18 days, with Anderson the very heart and soul of it.

It’s a film that covers quite a lot in less than 90 minutes. Taking the main stage is the life of a middle aged performer, who soon finds that despite her experience, is surplus to requirements. She’s seen as a motherly figure to the younger dancers in the show, at possibly the expense of being a real one to her own 22 year old daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), now estranged.

There’s also a hint of romance here too, with Eddie, which has been on the cards for some time, but has never really been explored fully by either party.

Anderson, who hasn’t exactly been challenged by her roles to date in her career, appears to throw caution to the wind and fully embrace the vulnerability that comes with the part. It’s as if she is channelling someone like Marilyn Monroe in her later life if she made it that far, being confront by a world that no longer sees the beauty in her, and being forced to confront that fact.

It is a role that she can truly be proud of, baring her soul throughout as she does, teased out by a confident Coppola to impressive effect.

It is a film that not only embraces the spirit of independent filmmaking, but puts a cultural icon back in the spotlight once again, and see how she shines.