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THE
COMPANY Rating:   (out of 5 stars)Director: Robert Altman Producer: David Levy Writer: Barbara Turner; Story by Neve Campbell and Barbara Turner Director of Photography: Andrew Dunn, B.S.C. Cast: Neve Campbell, James Franco, Malcolm McDowell, the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew |
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Robert Altman's The Company is quite simply a very well made film that unfortunately is just not my cup of tea. I'm sure you will read many positive reviews of this film elsewhere, and if the subject matter of this movie is of interest to you, then by all means I encourage you to listen to the words of those who this movie appeals to. For everyone else, I get the sneaking suspicion that you will be quite bored by The Company. It's an elegant, thoughtful and poetic film…and it took everything I had to not fall asleep as its beauty unspooled before me.
Neve Campbell, probably best known for her participation in such highbrow fare as Wild Things, the Scream trilogy, Drowning Mona, The Craft and Party of Five, was actually a student at the National School of Ballet in Canada prior to hitting it relatively big in Hollywood. In an effort to return to her roots and pay tribute to an art form she clearly loves, Campbell came up with the idea for The Company -- a film that would realistically capture the day-to-day struggles and joys of professional ballet dancers.
The resulting film ties a very, very loose narrative together with a handful of mesmerizing performance pieces. Campbell stars as Ry, a member of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet, who we see practice, work a job as a waitress to make ends meet, embark in a romance with a chef named Josh (James Franco), practice some more and ultimately perform in front of an audience. The leader of the company, Alberto Antonelli (Malcolm McDowell) is the flamboyant, critical, and supportive authority figure you would expect to find in a film like this.
Altman really distances us from these characters emotionally -- it seems the thinking is that if we become too involved in any individual we'll overlook the rigors of the lifestyle and the exquisiteness of the ballet. So when a moment that would otherwise be dramatic occurs -- a dancer snaps an Achilles tendon -- instead of responding with anguish, we simply shrug our shoulders, think to ourselves, "that's life in the ballet, kid," and wait for some more dancing.
As stated above, the dance sequences are wonderful, which is most attributable to the fact that, aside from Campbell, the rest of the ballet company is actually made up of members of the Joffrey. I was stunned by how captivating I found these moments to be, especially early on. Instead of overloading us with manipulation and choreography via editing, Altman lets us witness these performances almost entirely free of an obvious directorial presence. There is something so pure and refreshing about this technique, and it really lets you appreciate the art of ballet.
But no matter how well segments of this film work, there's no denying that I was largely disinterested in what was transpiring in The Company. Altman is a master of technique for certain, and many of his trademarks are here -- the gracefully moving camera, overlapping dialogue, etc. As an exercise in filmmaking style and experimental ways to tell a story, The Company is an intriguing venture (the observational point-of-view is similar to Gus Van Sant's Elephant), but its mostly low-key approach also often provides a much too suitable atmosphere for napping.
(A Sony Pictures Classics release.
Opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 25, 2003. Expands
to more cities at later dates.)
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