The Company

Movie Information

In Brief: Robert Altman's penultimate feature, The Company, is a disappointment any way you slice it (thank goodness he went out with A Prairie Home Companion). It is, in fact, the only Altman film I've seen that came close to boring me. That it didn't is a testament to Altman as a filmmaker, because this dramatically neutral movie about a ballet company rarely escapes the sense of being a vanity project for Neve Campbell. If you're interested in ballet or Altman, it's worth a look, but don't set your expectations too high.
Score:

Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco, Barbara Robertson, William Dick
Rated: PG-13

From the original review: “I can’t quite get past the feeling that the movie is a kind of convoluted vanity project for star and co-writer Neve Campbell (of the Scream series fame). From what I can discern, she spent two years studying dance, which is enough to put her in an educated-terpsichorean category, but not quite enough to land her toe-shoes a place with the Joffrey Ballet (whose members comprise most of the film’s dancers). It’s hard not to equate her pursuits with those of an enthusiastic, educated amateur casting himself in the lead of La Bohème and consigning Pavarotti to the chorus. It’s not all for naught by any means. Campbell’s performance of a dance to a dirge-like rendition of “My Funny Valentine” during a storm is a pretty solid piece of footwork, drama and filmmaking. Unfortunately, this segment falls at about the movie’s halfway mark, and there’s not much to equal it, though the final “Blue Snake” ballet has its share of cinematically creative moments. The problem really lies with the plot and the dialogue. The former — what there is of it — is a bit like that of 42nd Street, but with tutus. The plot apparently aims for a ‘slice of life’ approach as a kind of scripted exercise in cinéma-vérité. And while this may be a nod to realism, it isn’t very compelling. And to be fair, I’m not even 100 percent sure how realistic the end results are.”

Full review here.

The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Company Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

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About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

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