The Company (2003)

Strong and Moving!

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This was akin to a religious experience. I could not turn my eyes away. It was unique in the sense that it felt somewhat like a documentary. Yet it was full of delightfully subtle plots that were very engaging. The dance numbers were top notch with beautiful costumes galore. Superb camera work.

"The Company" was a personal project for Neve Campbell for years. An ex-dancer, she is its producer, writer and star. But the film is not called "The Dancer", so her character is little more a cog in the machinery of The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, where she is a featured dancer.Given that Robert Altman directs, we should not feel surprised that this drama has little of the usual dramatic story arc. Instead, like many Altman projects ("Nashville", e.g.) it feels like a slice of life-more documentary than drama.For fans of ballet, it offers plenty of performance footage and numerous scenes of backstage happenings, if not backstage drama. Campbell picks up a boyfriend (Dave Franco) along the way, but the relationship feels no more important that her constant battle with sore feet. This is cinema verite and those who want the (literally) painful truth about the rigors and rewards of dance will find this film committed to honesty. Or, at least, Neve Campbell's honesty. Despite the prices she has paid for being a dancer, she still loves it.If you want the traditional story arc, see "Center Stage". Instead of rigors and rewards, it offers heartaches and triumphs. "The Company" offers some of that--the scene where a dancer snaps her Achilles tendon is, for me, heart-rending. But the film does not allow that tragedy to remain personal; in the life of the company, the show goes on with little more than a hiccup.Malcolm McDowell is the imperious and impervious director of the company. He plays the part with the traits necessary for his position. He wheedles, he schmoozes, he lays down the law, his law. Much has been written about the use of "My Funny Valentine" as a musical theme. It does feel overused, and the many versions of it unnecessarily draw the viewer's attention. See "Sharkey's Machine" for a better use of the song.I am glad I saw this film, but honestly, at twenty-two minutes in, I realized I had seen it before. I had forgotten the film entirely. This is not to say that it is not worth remembering, just that our lives are filled with many significant days, and the slice-of-life offered by this film is one of them, even with its beautiful moments and the inclusion of Neve Campbell's incandescent intensity.

In answer to: Can't believe I sat through this oh so lost movie and where is the story?" questions: The story is in the details of everyday life of a dancer. It is not a beginning, middle and end type of movie. And that is the whole point, not to mention the wonderful dancing. I love dance movies about ballet and this is easily one of my favorites. The slice of dancers life with no true absolute focus is what makes it so perfect. The dancers and people coming in and out of the company. The small little glimpses of individuals and what happens is what makes it feel real. If the only way you are satisfied with a dance movie is to have a linear story line, watch The Turning Point (which I also love) but if you want the feeling of just a candid camera following a dance company and a few of it's principals, I highly recommend this movie. And if nothing else, the dance numbers are fantastic and worth watching the movie for.

I want to try and keep this quick.I danced ballet for many years and even I did not enjoy this film. Yes, there were a few good dance sequences, but honestly, they were few and far between. And many of them relied on fancy circus-like props and costumes. The final dance performance and climax of the movie was ridiculous and disappointing; it was almost as if the movie was making fun of itself by the time it ended - not good! The music was uninspiring.Not to mention a complete lack of plot and writing in "The Company". I didn't care about a single character in this film.Even fluff like "Center Stage" was much more enjoyable and fundamentally truer to the heart of traditional ballet and its inner workings than "The Company".Very disappointing.