People are frequently told that the world can be divided into two kinds of people. Examples? Red America and blue America. People from Mars and people from Venus. People who like Animaniacs and people who don’t like Animaniacs. It strikes me that another division may be Robert Altman people versus, say, Wes Anderson people. Do you favor Altman’s sprawling improv that tends to make his finished project look like a rehearsal, or Anderson’s in-depth demands about every last detail? Personally, I’m an Anderson man. That said, there are Altman movies I like a lot (M*A*S*H, The Player, Gosford Park), and while The Company might not quite measure up to those, it’s worth your time, especially if you are interested in the dance world.
It should be made clear at the outset that this is not your conventional movie. Basically it’s a look at the lives of dancers. Almost everyone you see in the picture is affiliated with the Joffrey Ballet, not an actor. There are times when the lead, Neve Campbell, is on-stage, yet you don’t notice her. She’s simply supposed to be a member of the company. And in this movie it’s the dancers that matter, not stars. What you see here are vignettes of dancers (mostly played by dancers). They fit together in comprehensible ways, but the plot isn’t what’s of interest here. Instead the focus is simply on getting a better feel for the lives of the people in this community.
The film has a number of highlights, most notably several performances by members of the Joffrey. These are not documentary clips. They are performances done for the movie. And some of them are spectacular. My favorites are Tensile Involvement, Strange Prisoners (choreographed by Davis Robertson, one of the dancers who acts in the movie), and the stunning White Widow (which is performed to some beautiful music that, if I remember correctly, was written for Twin Peaks). The sequence that includes Ms. Campbell dancing Lar Lubovich’s My Funny Valentine is also particularly well done.
The other highlight of the film is the romance between Ms. Campbell and James Franco. This is one of the most unusual film romances I’ve ever seen. The actors don’t even make eye contact with one another until 48 minutes of the film have passed. And after that they barely talk to one another for the entire remainder of the movie. True, Franco’s is a small role. But the understated way in which the romance is written and played is remarkable. And what Franco can do with even the least consequential of actions is impressive. He is a very fine actor.
As to the third “name” in the movie … eh, I’m not going to bother. He’s fine. As I understand it the individual that his role was based upon is a “character”, so I suppose his performance was fitting. Still, I find individuals (fictional or not) who constantly wear long scarves, are poor, platitudinous liars, and bellow with the imperious authority of Henry Kissinger to be tiresome.
I have a lot more respect for Neve Campbell after seeing this. Her acting is fine, as is her dancing (she’s much better than you’d expect). But what’s perhaps most noteworthy is how she really took the lead in putting this project together. She has both a story credit and a producer credit, and she seems to have been the central player in getting this film made. Given that this is a lovely and intriguing piece of work she is to be congratulated.
Posted by armand at July 10, 2004 10:50 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Movies