The Company (2003)

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers (WGA):

Neve Campbell (story) &
Barbara Turner (story) ...

Release Date:

5 February 2004 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

Ensemble drama centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer (Campbell) who's poised to become a principal performer.

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Dance | Backstage | Locker Room | Bar

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Neve Campbell	...	Loretta 'Ry' Ryan
Malcolm McDowell	...	Alberto Antonelli
James Franco	...	Josh
Barbara E. Robertson	...	Harriet (as Barbara Robertson)
William Dick	...	Edouard
Susie Cusack	...	Susie
Marilyn Dodds Frank	...	Mrs. Ryan
John Lordan	...	Mr. Ryan
Mariann Mayberry	...	Stepmother
Roderick Peeples	...	Stepfather
Yasen Peyankov	...	Justin's Mentor
Davis C. Robertson	...	Alec - Joffrey Dancer (as Davis Robertson)
Deborah Dawn	...	Deborah - Joffrey Dancer
John Gluckman	...	John - Joffrey Dancer
David Gombert	...	Justin - Joffrey Dancer

Also Known As:

The Company - Das Ensemble (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for brief strong language, some nudity and sexual content.

Runtime:

Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:112 min | Argentina:112 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:L | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) | Argentina:Atp | USA:R (original rating) (certificate #39884) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Sony Pictures Classics

Trivia:

James Franco, who plays a sous chef in the film, studied for his part by working at the upscale Chicago bistro, Marche.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ry gets out of the bath behind the screen, it's clear she's wearing a body stocking.

Quotes:

Alberto Antonelli: Thinking about the motion isn't being the motion.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in O Lucky Malcolm! (2006)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

Kudos to Neve Campbell for bringing this together

Yet another marvelous, marvelous film from Robert Altman. I hope that he makes a hundred more movies before he leaves us. What really needs to be said about The Company, though, is this: kudos to Neve Campbell! This is certainly an Altman film, but it was Ms. Campbell who organized this whole project and pulled it off. Who knew that this young beauty had merely been slumming the whole time? Her years in awful television drama and slasher flicks paid off. She came up with the story, put up some of the money, and she was the one who convinced Altman to take the job. Not only that, but she comes off as almost too modest with the relatively small role she has in the film. Of course, she's in it more than anyone else, and we get to learn about her life more than anyone else's, but the spotlight is simply on ballet itself. And what a beautiful art it is! The film works like a musical, with ballet numbers popping up throughout the loose narrative. Most are unannounced: these are just some of the performances the company (the Joffrey Ballet Company of Chicago) give throughout their season. The final setpiece (a hallmark of Robert Altman's cinema) is built up to through most of the film. The Company works much like a documentary, a documentary that makes no commentary on its subject. It's all just observation. In many ways, it's not like a regular Altman film, because another of his hallmarks is the swift and thorough characterizations his subjects receive. By the end of Nashville, those 20+ characters are so potent in our minds that the audience could write novels based on them. Not so with this one, where we really only get wisps of the people. It's a subtler approach than Altman's more famous films; it's a grace, I suppose, that fits the subject. We watch the everyday events that occur in the company, the successes and the failures, the fading careers and the beginnings, the egos of the stars and the humbleness of the chorus. The film also follows the characters (this time mostly Neve's) lives after the season is over. Campbell has to work as a bartender in a trendy club. Along the course of the film she meets a handsome young chef played by James Franco. Malcolm McDowell shows the strongest personality in the film, mostly because he's playing the company's head. The kind of humor that is specifically Altman's is not common in The Company, but when it does pop up it's always around McDowell. This is a wonderful film, not to be missed. It's also the rare film that I really wish I could have seen in a theater. Perhaps one day, at a distant Robert Altman retrospective, I will have that opportunity. 9/10.