The Company
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Movie Reviews of The Company
Movie Review: Beauty is a cruel dream
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Altman tries to give us a human vision of a ballet company in Chicago. The first great quality of this film is the dancing itself. A magical world of visual emotions that bring together the feeling that dancers are like birds that try to fly off the ground and conquer the world on one hand, and the beauty of colors and movements that engulf our imagination in a voyage into what can emerge from a maelstrom of recollections and contorsions coming from the deepest and highest strata of our love for the unknown on the other hand. But the film goes beyond this marvelous experience. It reveals the intense cruelty of this profession. The cruelty of a profession that is so short-lived that it is nearly finished before ever starting, the cruelty of an art that demands the impossible from dancers who may be unable to go over the frontier that bounds their fears and their hopes. The fear of aging. The fear of becoming stiff. The fear of falling and hurting their limbs. The fear of engulfing themselves in some deep emotional relation that may lead to an awful disease and death. The fear of displeasing the maestro that commands them. And yet the hope to become so light that the earth may retract and let them fly over the stage. The hope that they will be best and they will know the thrilling experience of a clapping and applauding audience. The hope that the world may be only an emotional trip into love and pleasure. The hope that they will be eternally young and beautiful. And Robert Altman sprinkles his film with the hard moments of reality that darken the beauty of this dancing sky. A fall that hurts or breaks a limb meaning the end of the adventure. A desire that is negated by the maestro, the choreographer, the director and the frustration that will come along with this negation, a frustration that knows no appeal. You can satisfy the tyrant that governs your work or you can't. And if you can't you have to leave, no matter whether you have become too old and have not seen it coming, or you have not been able to ply your limbs into the movement that is required. There is always someone in the wings that is prepared and waiting to take over at any time because the show must go on and you are nothing but a screw in a complex machine, and the screw you are can always be replaced. The only hope you may have, if you are a girl, is to love someone from outside this magic world who will be able to lift you up and take you to a second life. The only hope, if you are a boy, is not specified in the film. Dancing is a lot crueller for boys than it is for girls. So few will be able to become choreographers or directors. So many will have to go along their own ways into some uninteresting and dull feeding jobs somewhere outside. And the audience will not even see you or recognize you, except if you become a star, and the sky of the ballet has so few stars that are shooting stars anyway. And all that cruelty is wrapped up in some golden paper that justifies the chiefs of the tribe who can say they are humane, friendly, loving, though it is only an attitude, a language, a hypocritical stance covering the intense heartlessness of this world. A world of intense hopes, short thrills, constant fears and long frustrations. And no one will care when you are finished.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Movie Review: Dance fans everywhere will LOVE this. I certainly did!
Summary: 5 Stars
Directed by Robert Altman, this film is about a year in the life of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, which is the true star of the film. It also stars Neve Campbell, who wrote and produced it as well, and it was surely an act of love on her part. Even though she was originally trained as a dancer, she still had to train for three months, seven hours a day before even beginning to train with the company, which took another few months before shooting began. She is a wonderful dancer and The Company brings this all out.
This is not a film about one person though. And it is not a film with lots of interlocking stories. Basically, it is a film about the creative process itself, and how an idea gets turned into an elaborate work of art. It's hard to get the feel of this onto the screen. But Mr. Altman is a master in making sure it all come together.
It takes more than hard work to be a member of the company. It takes talent, dedication and pain and there are a few shots of the dancers' feet that made my own corns and calluses seem like nothing. Malcolm McDowell is cast as the artistic director and he is terrific. He's eccentric and moody and wonderfully creative as he has an intuitive understanding of how a new ballet will all come together in performance. Most of the dancing shows the new and experimental although there is no doubt that the company is classically trained.
There are a few small stories, but all of them just add to understanding of the company as a whole. For example, there is a romance between Neve Campbell and James Franco, cast as a young chef. This story is basically used to underscore the demanding life of the ballerina, which forces her to also work as a waitress in order to support herself. Then there is a poignant scene where a dancer snaps an Achilles tendon during rehearsal. Everyone knows that this means she will never dance again. But the show must go on. During the Grande Finale performance itself, one of the dancers is injured and another dancer takes her place in such a way that the performance seems seamless.
All the dancing bore the touch of Robert Desrosiers and Lar Lubovitich, two master choreographers who also had roles in the film. I must also give a standing ovation to the cinematographers who shot this film with multiple cameras and high definition video. I know I love watching dancers on the stage. But the kind of angles and close-ups that are possible in film transform the experience of watching dance into an almost participatory experience.
There are good extras on the DVD, including interviews and some extended dance performances. I just couldn't stop watching and absorbing all the backstage lore.
This is a wonderful film and I give it one of my highest recommendations - especially for dance fans everywhere.
Movie Review: Are you a dancer?!!!! Then...
Summary: 5 Stars
So what?! I get sick of hearing about "oh I'm a dancer and I hated/loved this movie". Blah, blah, blah. That's what I think of those kinds of reviews. That's the reason most people got into that movie 'Flash Dance'..."I'm a dancer" lunacy. If you're a stage dancer, then dance. You don't have some special qualification to critique this film because of that. And why are you so obsessed with dance movies in the first place? "I want to spread the joy and recruit with it." To Sally Sue running a dance class in a backwoods town trying to get all her friends to watch it and join her in "the quest for movement", give it a freak'n rest already! Lordy. This is not made to cater for or against that crowd. Altman doesn't do that. If you got that impression from the movie, you need your head examined. This is a separate animal from those other dance promotional films. There have been other films that have attempted this, but got screwed over by their studio. 'Havana Nights' was originally very different than it turned out, for instance. The whole 'Dirty Dancing' connection was a bastardization of the writer's concept. See 'The Player' for Altman's thoughts on Hollywood for an understanding of why this film is not in that category. 'The Company' is an exploration of the behind-the-scenes reality of an art form from the perspectives of individuals who have made (or are trying to make) it their sole profession. Altman's eye once again has an objective, slightly distant documentary-like style to it, but in a way I don't think could be captured with a real documentary crew standing around. And yet in spite of this, it is quite an intimate character piece. You get these moments of character and situational truth again and again throughout that are universal to people, to professionalism, to art, and yet also have a unique take from this particular field. 'The Company' is one of my favorite films of last year and has stayed with me over the months since I've seen it.Movie Review: Altman's Way
Summary: 5 Stars
THE COMPANY is a bit difficult to categorize as a movie, that is unless you are familiar with Robert Altman's unique form of cinematic technique. There are fragments of storylines and a behind the scenes, very private views of what makes a Ballet Company function, but that is about it. And that is enough. Altman knows how to stay out of the way as a director: the film feels extemporaneous. Briefly, THE COMPANY is the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago during a season. The cast is dominated by the company members who act with casual lyricism, dance with extraordinary grace and technique, and share their moments of joy, pain, frustration, stage fright, and physical stamina with us as though we were a fly on the wall. Neve Campbell is responsible for bringing this film to the screen, sharing the producing and writing responsibilities as well as re-entering her past training as a ballerina to dance all her own roles -cast as a company dancer rising to premiere danseuse roles when another dancer is injured. Malcolm McDowell ties the film together as a version of director Gerald Arpino. But the focus here is on preparation of the company by choreographers from initial discussion of concept to full dress performance of many ballets. In the case of Lar Lubovitch, the choreography is exquisite: the pas de deux 'My Funny Valentine' danced by Campbell and partner Domingo Rubio is the best part of the film. The expensive production of an absurdly bad ballet by Robert Desrosiers is at the other end of the spectrum. The filming is gently beautiful, the dancing at the bar and on the stage is peerless, and the overall feeling of camaraderie and commitment that exists in the sheltered world of ballet is sensitively portrayed. When it comes to simple observation of life, few do it better than Altman, and THE COMPANY is no exception. A fine little docudrama.Movie Review: Heavy Praise but No Spoilers
Summary: 5 Stars
THE COMPANY is a wonderful film in the tradition of Robert Altman's best films (particularly NASHVILLE, also MASH, McCABE & MRS MILLER, and SHORT CUTS). When Altman is really "on his game," no one can equal his ability to create a unique microworld which simultaneously captures its defined subject but also points out its universality. In this case the spotlight is on the Joffrey Ballet Company of Chicago, so there are tense rehearsal scenes followed by gorgeous performance scenes. Daily life in "The Company" depicts the universal desire of all artists to "get it right" -- the effort they go thru day in & day out to perfect each tiny detail so that the end result looks "easy" to the audience. The film challenges its audience to understand that this quest is just as true for the filmmakers making this film as it is of the dancers that the film embraces. In other words, it looks like a "documentary" but it's actually tightly scripted. Each time you watch it, you will see more & more because each of the character's specific arcs will become more & more clear to you. Is it worth the effort? Well, if you are someone who's seen NASHVILLE multiple times, then yes. The first time I saw NASHVILLE, I watched to see WHAT would happen. The second time, I wanted to know who did it. (If you know NASHVILLE, then you'll know that the "what" is an assassination.) It wasn't until the third time that I actually understood why one particular person X killed another particular person Y. Same here - although the plot elements are more delicate (as befits the milieu). Suffice it to say that you'll know you've mastered THE COMPANY when every act in the Christmas Roast makes you laugh as hard as the dancers in the scene are laughing. Final Words: See this at least once on a big screen if at all possible, because the dance numbers are truly magnificent!