Thursday, 8 July 2004
The Company
Robert Altman has a well-known history of making his filmed subjects... interesting. Sometimes, "interesting" means adding enough of a twist as to brew controversy. MASH was ostensibly about the Korean war, but was a direct comment on Vietnam. Prêt-à-Porter and The Player upset more than a few among within respective power structures. Even more amazing, the latter was his first Hollywood studio film in twelve years - not a good way to win friends, but he pulled it off and even managed to find fans within the industry.
There's also the stately but more neutral Gosford Park. Then there's Dr. T & the Women or Popeye. Popeye? Yup.
So, what to expect from The Company, a movie about ballet? How about one that stars bad boy Malcolm McDowell? But wait - what if the headliner was Party of Five-r Neve Campbell? Hmmm - now we're stuck on a fence: Will Altman rip apart ballet's snobbish power structure, or handle it with kid gloves?
Well, neither of the above. At times, the film seems to be an ode to the sheer beauty that comes from its dancers' raw power and lithe grace. Then, moments later, you'll see a situation straight from the playbook of a daytime soap opera.
How to reconcile these two diametrically opposed facets? You don't - and Altman doesn't. If nothing else, this is his testament to the artist, warts and all. An average person is a mix of conflicting "good" and "bad," and we accept them for it. If an artist is an average person who has had some aspect amplified to the nth degree, isn't it reasonable to expect that other aspects may be as well?
Oddly, the ugly moments never seem like barriers to enjoying the film or hurdles to surmount in order to enjoy the ballet performances. They come and go, in their own time. Altman lets the performances come and go in their own time, as well. Anyone who wouldn't see ballet "in real life" is probably going to be bored to tears, but that's not Altman's audience. Instead, he lets the camera linger - the dancers are responsible for the movement. And the audience, both the fictional one on-screen and the one that the viewer is a part of, get to relish the results.
This film is no populist entertainment or broad-stroked comedy, nor is it a social commentary that appeals to the average Joe and people with agendas alike. Altman has made a film that shows performers' warts without being judgmental, and their high points without being overly reverential. In a way, he's used ballet to act as a mirror and a medium his own art.
This isn't an easy film to sit through, nor is it especially challenging. But the movement - of the dancers, of the plot - is worth it for what it is.
3 / 5 - worth seeing, even if this isn't ballet or Altman in top form