Robert Altman's "The Company"

[vagansmom]

LOL, my opnion is 180 degrees opposite of Aspirant's. I didn't like Gosford Park's meanderings and I loved it in The Company. I didn't need or want a ballet novel; I wanted to see dancing, I wanted a peek into the lives of professional dancers and I got both so I am very well-satisfied.

I also was treated to a whole new view of "White Widow", a dance I've seen many, many times and never tire of. I wish the entire piece had been filmed but of course that's my wish for every dance (save The Blue Snake which I found laughable).

Another highlight for me was Charthel Arthur's facial expressions. Mostly silent, she can be observed in many scenes taking notes while sitting next to the choreographer in rehearsals. I can't remember now which part of the movie but there was one scene, most likely with DesRosiers but maybe it was Antonelli, where the expression on Arthur's face practically stole the scene. I've seen that look before in real life; a choreographer or AD is suggesting something preposterous and the ballet mistress has to appear silently respectful. Arthur conveys that appearance deftly but still manages to let the audience know what she really thinks.

I do feel badly that The Blue Snake was the grand finale. I don't want the general viewing audience to have the impression this is what's considered a good ballet. I don't want people to go away laughing at ballet and I'm a little afraid that might happen.

[BW]

Finally saw The Company today and I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I expected more - and was quite surprised when it ended.

What I did enjoy has been mentioned here by others - the little "slice of life" parts in rehearsals, the stereotypical AD behavior that was played so well by Malcolm McDowell that got not a few laughs in the particular movie house we were in, and the chance to see at least a little bit of the Joffrey Ballet.

If I could change anything it would be to forget the plot and to have just made it more of a documentary and to, of course, have seen much, much more dancing.

Neve Campbell was fine - she did well in her acting parts, but it was obvious that when she fell in that horrible Blue Snake ballet that the dancer who took her place was a thousand times better...but Campbell's lack of ability didn't bother me so much as the absolute unreality of that bathroom in her apartment!! :rolleyes: What young dancer do you know who can afford a set up like that - unless of course her bossy mother and step father were loaded to the max and had it built for her...

And I am 100% with you vagansmom about that final ballet of The Blue Snake - that made the whole build up laughable. That was really bad, in my opinion. To make matters worse the fact that this was the finale (rather than an example of what bad choreography dancers have to put up with in their working lives) and the movie showed "Arpino" and his ballet mistress reacting as though they thought they'd died and gone to ballet heaven.:speechless: This is the only part that really made me have the urge to say "Blech" as aspirant put it. Otherwise, it was enjoyable - not great, a bit of a let down, but OK for a Sunday afternoon.

However, to end this post on a more upbeat note - again, I did enjoy seeing the Joffrey Ballet because that is something I've never had the pleasure of doing before and I loved seeing Davis Robertson again - having just seen him perform at Symphony Space with Ballet NY. And I think he shows that he can act as well as dance, too.

Edited February 2, 2004 by BW

[dirac]

Cliff, I would suggest we did get the old "novice dancer makes it big" story -- just toned down. Our heroine gets her chance when the chosen lead is injured. Also, her previous affair with a company member breaks up when he cheats on her with another company member. How often have we seen these plot points before?

Campbell has a mother who is pushy and calculating. Hello, Center Stage. Antonelli is a colorless variation on the Impresario type that is also familiar. Again, I didn't think the movie was awful -- but it's getting praised for eschewing cliche when the cliches are just back in a slightly modified form.

"Dr. T." was indeed awful. It's worth remembering that Altman's movies vary in quality more widely than almost any other major director I can think of -- a movie is not good because his name is on it. That's true of all directors, of course, but it's REALLY true of Altman.

[BW]

In case you missed this piece by NPR’s Sarah Fishko during her program on 2/12 The Fishko Files you can catch it now: Ballet Movies Although she is talking about ballet movies in general and The Company specifically, it is really more of a brief – but seemingly accurate glimpse into the ballet dancer’s life – there are brief comments by Wendy Whelan Victor Barbee, James Fayette and Jennifer Ringer - as well as excerpts from several movies past and present.

[rplaut]

Fishko's piece is excellent. I especially liked the articulate, insightful comments of the dancers.

And she's right when she says that the film should be seen on the big screen--if it's still playing in your city, don't wait for the DVD.

On a personal note, I loved seeing friends and former colleagues on the big screen! It was also quite emotional for me to see characters and events that really existed portrayed (relatively) accurately. Despite its shortcomings, I really enjoyed the film.

[BW]

rplaut, glad to hear someone in the know had as good a reaction to this piece as I did. B)

[Ed Waffle]

Eight months after first seeing the trailer for this movie, it finally dragged itself onto one screen in Motown.

A few notes about “The Company”

Whoever decided to put two indispensable American cultural icons ---Altman and the Joffrey—together made a great decision. Seeing dance through Altman’s eyes is an excellent way to experience it on film. I can’t tell if the slices of backstage life, including dressing rooms, rehearsals, meetings, injuries and interviews are true to life but the picture that Altman paints of them resonates with the truth.

Neve Campbell—

She looks very familiar even though I have seen almost none of her previous work—is she the “face” for a cosmetics company? Or maybe just seeing a lot of trailers for other of her movies. Checking her credits on IMDB.com, the only one I have seen is “Wild Things” and only about 15 minutes of it, which was 14 ½ minutes too many.

She is an excellent movie actress. One very telling moment is when she is having her meeting with Antonelli/Arpino/MacDowell and a ballet mistress. They are talking about how if a dancer can dance allegro she can dance anything. As usual, Antonelli is called out of the meeting in order to be someplace else where he is already late. Just as he is leaving he turns back quickly. The camera focuses on Campbell. In much less time than it takes to tell, shows us that she was about to bring up a ballet being made on her, that she realizes that her chance has been lost for now, that she still wants to blurt it out but decides not to.

The look of the movie—

Chicago looked great: Grant Park Bandshell, a few bits of skyline, the Auditorium Theater, Fourth Presbyterian Church (the wedding scene).

The apartment looked as if it was done by a Hollywood set designer. Since a dancer with the Joffrey who worked as a cocktail waitress probably couldn’t afford it, it served the same function as the palatial New York apartments from the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. In each case the apartments told us something about the characters in the movie and did away with a lot of exposition. The cut from the bar where Ry is playing pool and being watched by Josh (James Franco) to the apartment showing him waking up made a love/sex scene unnecessary.

As a quibble, why do so many movies set in Chicago have to show the El rumbling past—and all the apartments are on the second or third floor, so the train can be seen and heard.

Altman and dance—

I think that he, Andrew Dunn, the cinematographer and Geraldine Peroni, the editor, were excellent in showing dance and dancers, sometimes from unexpected perspectives. Dunn lit and shot “Gosford Park” and Peroni has cut most of Altman’s movies since “The Player”. They are quite a team. A few of the shots were problematical—the one of the female dancer balanced upside down on two male dancers, with her legs perpendicular to her body and parallel to the floor was not meant to be seen from above, for example. But even that went from possibly pornographic to almost abstract moving shapes in a second or two. Most of the dance was lit, shot and edited very well—one saw the dance and was only fleetingly aware of the artistry going on behind the camera.

Beautiful (and inexpensive) people—

Female ballet dancers are among the most gorgeous creatures on earth. Quick scenes of them in performance, in rehearsal, in dressing rooms or just waiting around are a wonderful way to show them off. Most of the cast were members of the company—not only dancers but also ballet mistresses and masters, stage managers, and technical people, the rehearsal pianist and the physical therapist—which probably made it easier stay within the budget.

Another quibble—the injury to the ballerina while she is showing some steps. Would she know immediately that she had ripped her Achilles tendon? My experience (not with dancers but with athletes) is that they only immediately know what an injury is if they have suffered it before. A boxer who breaks a metacarpal bone in his hand, for example, will know it almost as the punch lands on the opponent if it has happened before. But unless the dancer/athlete knows the specific pain, numbness or shock from having felt it in the past she would not know exactly what has happened. I may, of course, be completely wrong about this when it comes to dancers.

“The Company” is not a typical Altman movie (actually, what IS a typical Altman movie?) nor is it a major work but it has many of his most successful and recognizable conventions. We see slices of slices of life, overhearing the middle of conversations, coming into meetings as they end, watching an argument among collaborators that has obviously been going on for days, if not years. His best movies have been slashing satires of decadent and blighted institutions or places, taken apart with a jeweler’s eye. “The Company” shows artists at work. I have seen this movie twice in the past two days and will see it a few more times before it creeps out of town. Apparently it was dumped by its distributor and may be difficult to find. But it is well worth seeing.

[Treefrog]

Amazing review, Ed.

I've not suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon (although I did envision the possibility, vividly, as I cycled most of the Minneapolis-to-Chicago AIDS Ride a few years ago with a very inflamed Achilles). However, another rider described to me what happened when his had let go a few years earlier. He likened it to a windowshade rolling up inside his calf.

Whether or not it had ever happened before, I would think the sensation would be unmistakable.

[mini cooper]

BW, Thanks for posting the link to the NPR clip. That was a nice discussion of the movie.

Ed, Great insights on the movie. Thanks for sharing those.

I really liked the movie - but next time I will probably watch it on DVD. Maybe this would be a good time to get that large TV screen my husband keeps talking about!?

mc

[atm711]

I finally saw 'The Company' yesterday---and was alternately disappointed, bored and wishing Altman had used NYCB instead of the Joffrey---at least we would have had better choreography. It would have been improved if the Snake at the end had chewed up the choreographer instead of the dancers. The film did manage to come to life when Malcolm McDowell was on screen.

[Mel Johnson]

I finally saw 'The Company' yesterday---and was alternately disappointed, bored and wishing Altman had used NYCB instead of the Joffrey---at least we would have had better choreography.

You sure? Think about it a minute. Nothing would have to be cleared with the Balanchine Trust if they used all Peter's stuff. This is better?

[Ed Waffle]

vagansmom wrote:

Another highlight for me was Charthel Arthur's facial expressions. Mostly silent, she can be observed in many scenes taking notes while sitting next to the choreographer in rehearsals. I can't remember now which part of the movie but there was one scene, most likely with DesRosiers but maybe it was Antonelli, where the expression on Arthur's face practically stole the scene. I've seen that look before in real life; a choreographer or AD is suggesting something preposterous and the ballet mistress has to appear silently respectful. Arthur conveys that appearance deftly but still manages to let the audience know what she really thinks.

vagansmom and board: If this is the same scene I have been thinking about it was one of the real gems that Altman tossed at the audience. It was about 10 seconds of screen time at the end of a longer scene.

A meeting had begun with Antonelli/MacDowell and DesRosiers talking about the choreographer's vision for "The Blue Snake". Upon entering, Antonelli had been casually cruel to a junior member of the staff who hadn't been quick enough to clean bagels, etc. from a table, so when the dialog between him and DesRosiers begins we may be predisposed to like DesRosiers, simply because he isn't Antonelli. If we are it lasts about 3 seconds.

DesRosiers was perfect playing himself. As he describes "The Blue Snake" (and the blue snake) it sounds increasingly ridiculous, expensive and wasteful and he sounds like a parody of the over the top, spare no cost guy with a vision. Antonelli (no longer an arbitrary adminstrative martinet but now a responsible, budget-conscious arts manager) is pulled from the meeting and DesRosiers continues to discuss his staging with the staff.

This is where the scene goes from good to just about perfect. A ballet master (not sure who, since there are three otherwise unidentified "ballet masters" in the cast, but he was terrific whenever on camera) asks about the music. He is told that it is being composed. The ballet master or one of the ballet mistresses then says that of course the choreographer will have beats that the dancers can learn while waiting for the music to be finished. The choreographer says something very close to "not believing in beats, that the dancers would feel a beat, that this was an organic way to work".

The looks from the staff members were completely true and telling. They went from "Oh, my God" to "I can't believe I am hearing this" to "Here we go again". The crowning touch was that they didn't look at each other. If they had it would have changed the scene entirely. The three people from the company would have become a group united in their distaste for Desrosiers, instead of three talented and dedicated artists confronted with yet another impossible task and perhaps a bit outraged by it. It kept the focus on the work to be done and not on the personality of the choreographer. It was perfect.

My wife saw "The Company" with me the second time I saw it. Her initial reaction to "The Blue Snake" was exactly the same as mine--"They didn't really put that onstage, did they?" It was ghastly.

Among the "characters" were the dancers with green tendrils. My wife thought they were palm trees--they looked like artichokes to me. One could image the way the DesRosiers motivated the artichokes--he could have used dialog from "Tootsie" when Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey explains to Sidney Pollock, playing his agent, why he shouldn't have been fired from a commercial in which he was playing a tomato:

"Nobody does vegetables like me. I did an evening of vegetables off-Broadway. I did the best tomato, the best cucumber... I did an endive salad that knocked the critics on their ass."

[Treefrog]

I love that scene too. If I remember correctly, the ballet mistress also says something along the lines of, "Well, that'll be a first!" when told that not only is there no music, but no counts either.

The ballet master you thought so terrific is Mark Goldweber. I agree.

[atm711]

Yes, Mel--it did occur to me right after I posted---but even 'Peter's stuff' is a lot better than what I saw---think about it for a minute.

[Mel Johnson]

A minute would be about what Altman could have paid for in NYCB time compared to what the Joffrey hires for. That was another point of unreality about Ry's monster apartment that was otherworldly. OK, nobody is living in a place like Ralph and Alice Kramden's old apartment, but....

[dirac]

I've already unburdened myself of my negative observations on other threads, but I agree, reluctantly, with atm711 (and with all due respect to the Joffrey fans on the board). I was particularly distressed by the Blue Snake ballet, which the reviewer in People magazine, no less, described accurately as "the dream ballet from Shrek." And then you had that shot of McDowell, et al., applauding furiously, as if they'd just seen Fonteyn and Nureyev's first Giselle. That was painful.

[Treefrog]

No argument from this Joffrey fan about Blue Snake. But do remember that Blue Snake is not part of the Joffrey's repertory -- it was staged especially for this movie.

I've been hoping to hear more comments about the quality of the dancing in this film (as distinct from the choreography). Overall -- did seeing The Company make you want to see the Joffrey live, if you had the chance, or did it make you realize you could happily stay away, or somewhere in between?

[Mel Johnson]

Oh, yes, "Blue Snake" is almost indefensible, but it's part of the Golden Rule! He who has the Gold makes the Rules. If Neve had wanted Act I Don Q, I'm certain they would have done that! And as to the shameless clacquing by artistic staff, I've seen (names deleted to protect the guilty) do that for the most godawful claptrap I've ever seen! Better Alwin Nikolais than Martins, in my book.

[dirac]

Between Nikolais and Martins, I'd plump for the latter, but I'd rather watch "White Widow" than one of those Martins "quirky" pas de deux served up occasionally by SFB, I grant you that. I also agree that nothing could be done about the Star's bad taste.

I really don't want to be mean about the movie. I was just so disappointed.

From The Red Shoes to Invitation to the Dance to The Turning Point to Center Stage to this, it seems to me that ballet movies are definitely reversing the evolutionary process.

[Manhattnik]

Perhaps it was too much to hope for, but I wanted to see some of the Joffrey I've missed so much: Robert Joffrey's exquisite collection of historical gems rescued, however fleetingly, from the dustbin of history. Perhaps the current Joffrey still has some of delights in its repertory, but I strongly doubt it. I really didn't expect to see Parade, The Green Table, Jazz Calendar, Big City, New York Export, Opus Jazz, but some hint of ballet as part of an long and noble tradition would've been welcome. What symbolism one might see in the inclusion of the bit from La Vivandiere as backdrop (and reason for?) a veteran dancer's career-ending (in the real world -- it's glossed over in the movie), I'll leave to the imagination. Old-fashioned ballet as damaging? (Heck, had those Arpino clips gone on longer, I'd have busted a few tendons just watching. What has the guy got against plies, anyhow?)

Instead all we got was Arpino's relentless perkiness, and other "modern" ballets which presented little more than catchy facades. Arpino's work was useful back when; it set a counterpoint for Joffrey's catholic collecting, and, as such, was less objectionable. Presented as the centerpiece of the Joffrey's current rep, the Arpino I saw (espcially Suite Saint Saens) just set my teeth on edge, like arriving at the State Theater back when hoping to see Suzanne and getting Heather.

Without rewriting my original bit about this ballet, I found the cynicism very, very disturbing, and, as has been noted, Altman's cinema verite approach covers a multitude of sins. This is, in many ways, a very conventional backstage romance story, and also young kid (Ruby Keeler, Neve, whomever) makes good. Also, I find it really hard to believe that a dancer's boyfriend could run out onstage as Campbell's did at the end of Blue Snake without getting tackled by a few security guards.

[Mel Johnson]

The reason for the selection of repertory to be shown in the movie was again highly dictated by the producer (Neve) and also dependent on cost. The "Vivandière" bit was inexpensive because the Joffrey's version of it was staged by Maria Grandy, who was a member of the company. A lot was also dependent on what was "up" for the time that was chosen for the shoot. "Pas des Déesses" just doesn't assemble itself! And as for the evolution of the dance film, I think that The Company moves the genre forward. The offered succession of titles gives a beginning in a melodrama equal to von Kotzebue or Boucicault or even George Aitken (Uncle Tom's Cabin) and moves forward through Naturalism and the "well-made play" up to the verge of Ibsen Realism. And as to people being able to get to a stage in some places - one of them would have been able to one time, if he hadn't tripped over me kneeling in the wings.

[dirac]

I'd question that chronology, but suggest only that Ibsen at his most realistic (and he often wasn't all THAT realistic) never forgot to address the needs of drama.

The Red Shoes remains supreme for me because it conveys the exhilaration that this art can produce in both audience and performers as no other ballet movie does.

[Mel Johnson]

And for me, Red Shoes hangs with the rest of the hams. It was great in its time, but it is truly dreadful to watch (and hear) now. Unfortunately, The Company is still at the "well-made play" stage of things with Torvald coming on and announcing a miraculous deus ex machina resolution of the plot, and stopping short of Nora saying, "Stay, Torvald, we have much to discuss". Dance films are still over a hundred years short of Ibsen and Strindberg.

[dirac]

Actually,The Red Shoes wasn't great in its time, although it was a big hit, rather unexpectedly so. It's a classic, but not a great film. People in 1948 didn't take that stuff seriously any more than we do, although there's more emotional truth in Shearer's dilemma than is sometimes realized.

You may find it dreadful to watch and hear, but opinions differ, as this thread indicates.

[Helene]

I usually love Altman films; I think Nashville among the greatest films I've ever seen. I finally saw The Company and found it dull. I think the soap-operaesque things -- ex: the ridiculous, drunk of a stage mother, the bathtub, the bland but cute boyfriend, Campbell's and Franco's actoriness, the silly storm -- countered the slice of life sharpness, quirkiness, and irony that works so well many of Altman's other films.

Between the mostly appallingly bad choreography, the tediousness of Antonelli's ego and self-performance "art," and the "I am an artiste"-ness of Desrosier's character, I wondered why these superb dancers woke up in the morning. Only Lar Lubovitch's character showed a combination of calmness and professionalism. No wonder dancers liked working for Balanchine, even before he became Balanchine.

Campbell was in wonderful shape, and she certainly showed dedication for many months to try to appear believable. What wasn't was the inflexibility of her back and the squareness of her upper body. What was believable was, in a small company, having a young, imperfect dancer be one of the few healthy ones available as an understudy, and stepping in because she was such a quick learner who remembered and absorbed what she learned. Because Campbell was injured and left ballet in her mid-teens, she wouldn't have had a lot of experience with partnering to fall back on. Despite this, I thought she was credible in the partnering; regardless of how good her partners were, without her active participation, she would have looked like a sack of flour.

There were a few things that I really liked about The Company, though: as mentioned before, I thought the performances of the ballet masters, Mark Goldweber and Chartel Arthur, were wonderfully sincere in quite opposite ways, contrasting his apprehension and her wryness. Apart from the crotch shots, I liked the ways that a lot of the dance shots were filmed, both overhead and straight on, mostly because it emphasized what good, strong partners the Joffrey men are in this choreography. I also loved the dancer with the beard who had a scene with McDowell; what a wonderful face and brow he had.

For me the film gave only a glimpse into two things I find most fascinating about watching dancers work: figuring out the technical aspects of the choreography -- how to lock the arm during a partnership move, where to place the body on the swing to be able to perform the cartwheel move -- and watching the rehearsal turn into actual performance.