What to Stream: Robert Altman's Ballet Drama 'The Company' Is a Warm-Hearted Ode to Artistic Passions
The Company (2003) Amazon Instant, iTunes
The Basics: A glimpse backstage at a prestigious ballet company in Robert Altman’s penultimate feature film.
If You Like: Black Swan, A Prairie Home Companion, La Danse
Many of Robert Altman’s best (and best-loved) movies are distinguished by a darkly comic cynicism about the frailties of human nature and institutions, whether it’s the country-music industry in Nashville or Hollywood itself in The Player. What makes the legendary director’s final two films — The Company and A Prairie Home Companion — unique is that there isn’t a cynical bone in their bodies. Instead, both movies are warm-hearted odes to the joys of live performance.
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Made in complete cooperation with Chicago’s world-famous Joffrey Ballet, The Company is one degree shy of being a documentary, as Altman’s camera observes real dancers and choreographers planning, preparing and performing actual stage pieces. The only real nod to narrative filmmaking is the addition of a few actors to the mix, including Malcolm McDowell as the artistic director, and ballet-student–turned–iconic-‘90s-actress Neve Campbell as one of the main characters, a rising star within the company who hopes to move out of the background and into the spotlight. When she’s not in the dance studio, Campbell tries to have some semblance of a personal life, earning a living via waitressing and dating an ambitious chef (James Franco, in an increasingly rare non-weird performance).
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But the ballet’s the thing for both her and the movie, which keeps its attention laser-focused on the company as a whole. The Company's lack of satiric bite is surprising at first, especially coming from a firebrand like Altman. What is still very much present, though, is his eye for detail and skill at constructing ensemble-driven narratives, in which every role is a crucial part of his cinematic tapestry. Whether he mellowed in his later year, or was simply won over by the beauty of this particular art form, The Company benefits from Altman’s kinder, gentler approach. It celebrates an act of collective creativity, while also illustrating the hard work of each individual that makes the end result possible.
Watch the trailer for The Company:
Photos: Everett Collection
