Hey folks, Harry here... Quint went and visited the set of this film and had the amazing chance to watch Robert Altman direct and behold the glory that is Malcolm McDowell in person... bastard. Anyway, it seems that, at least for one fan of the Ballet Company that was used in the film... there was quite a bit of disappointment in the film. What follows is a rather lengthy account of the problems as the "howling rabbit" sees them. Take note though, that Altman's film isn't due to be seen by general audiences for still, quite some time. Many changes and tweaks can occur and also... well Howling Rabbit may not represent your or my thoughts on the final film. Beware of spoilers....
Harry,
Long time reader, first time writer. I'm a chicago actor, trying my best to get by in the windy city.
I'm a big fan of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago now, and last fall Robert Altman was here filming a movie called THE COMPANY with the Joffrey. The star was Neve Campbell, who also helped formulate the story.
Seems that Neve used to dance witha Ballet in Canada, and had always wanted to make a film about dancers. Altman became involved, and contacted the Joffrey (arguably the premiere ballet company in the US) who agreed to participate.
Many on the dancers and staff would be given roles, and Altman would be allowed to film many performances and at the Joffrey. No, I'm not in it, this was far before my tenure here, although my girlfriend was around for the last few weeks of shooting.
So, last night Altman and Neve came into town with a print, and presented it to the Joffrey staff and board, as well as the Chicago- based tech crew and actors.
Boy, I'm glad I didn't pay for it.
See, THE COMPANY is one of those films that seems OK until the ending arrives. Then, like a hammer hitting you in the head, you realize how God-awful it is.
Because there is _no plot,_ _no conflict,_ the film just exists. We see a lot of ballets performed, and we see a lot of little moments where we think characters are being established, only to find out we'll never revisit those plotlines again.
The film had no closing credits. We were told the house lights would go to half at the point where the credits would eventually be. When the lights came up, I was stunned, because I felt like I'd seen the first half of a movie.
Literally, there are tons of plotlines set up that go nowhere. From the Young dancer who ends up sleeping on a floor, to Neve waiting tables at night, to the lead male dancer who wants more artistic control. This I understand on a dramatic level, but none of our dancers live _remotely_ like that. When I say "go nowhere," I don't mean that nothing interesting is done dramatically, I mean we just never see the plotline again. They just dissappear from the movie.
Malcom McDowell plays Mr. A, based on Mr. Arpino, the real, living artisitc director of the company. He is fantastic as usual, filling in his scenes with vigor and charm. I found myself wishing the film was about him, because Mr. A is confronted in the film with all of the atristic crisis' we see on a daily basis, money, ego, etc. It's interesting, and McDowell fills the screen with charisma, but it's introduced, then floats into the ether.
Neve is fine, and does her own dancing. She's credible, and doesn't embarrass herself in either area. James Franco is her love interest, and also is fine. There is one wierd thing, Altman spends a lot of time showing Franco's knife technique. My lord, there is a lot of footage of him slicing things. Strange choice.
The dancers. Well, much of the cast as actual Joffrey dancers. This always scares the crap out of me, I'm an actor and I take my craft very seriously, to see amateurs pushed into the fray usually is just awful for me to watch. I do applaud the dancers for pulling off some good work.
I want to especially single out Mark Goldweber, one of the ballet masters, who was really wonderful as, well, one of the ballet masters. He was great, natural, and very sweet. Also Pierre Lockett _steals the show_ in a single scene with McDowell that defines artistic frustration. For essentialy novice actors, they were fantasic.
The end of the film is centered around a ballet created by an eccentric choreographer, in which Neve's character gets a solo. The ballet is wierd and silly, and a altogether strange choice upon which to base what is, ostensibly, the climax of the film. It very nearly undercuts the beauty of the other dances we see by making the whole concept of dance about childish storylines and silly costumes.
I can hardly describe this sequence. The concept is fanciful, likened to a children's book in the film, and I question it's choice to end the film. There are many, many beautiful selections performed, yet this choice seems to undercut all that. As an example, the ballet ends with a giant, complete with grasping hands and chewing mouth, proceeds to eat the dancers, who are dressed as monkeys and zebras and such. Complete with little monkey-dancers hanging half out of the mouth being masticated.
Like I said, wierd.
During this final performance, Neve falls, hurting her arm. Franco appears backstage after another dancer goes on for her, and she tells him she's fine. Again, dramatic moment undercut, nothing is a stake. Then the film just ends.
That's it. Nothing more.
See, I think Altman's lost it. There is absolutely nothing at stake in this film. There is no story, only snippits of people's lives. The problem there is that we don't get to know these people enough to relate to the film as a character study, and there's no conflict at all, hence no real plot.
On the good side the dances are beautiful, and the Joffrey itself is presented in a nice light. However, I feel Altman would've been better off making a documentary, or performance film about the Joffrey, because that's all that really works.
Call me Howling Rabbit.
