CATRIONA PAUL at the movies.

WHAT DO Neve Campbell, star of the teen horror Scream trilogy, and Robert Altman, Oscar-winning director of critically acclaimed films such as The Player and Gosford Park, have in common? Answer – a film about ballet.

The Company follows the lives and work of dancers at The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. It focuses on the efforts of one dancer, Ry (Campbell), to become a principal in the corps. Starring alongside Campbell are actors Malcolm McDowell, as the Company’s Director, and James Franco as Campbell’s boyfriend.  However, most of the cast is made up of real-life members of the ballet company.

Campbell and Altman have adopted a documentary approach, denying audiences a dominant storyline or easily accessible characters. While Campbell is beguiling and impressive (she dances all her own steps), she is kept at arms length from the audience. Dramatic moments are observed more than felt, emotive scenes played down. More time is spent with the group than with Ry. And so the point is made – a dance company is a collective that continues whether the individual stumbles or soars.

We keep time with the film (as the company keeps track of the year), in terms of performances. The film works as a lesson in dance appreciation – a beautifully charged, love-song of a dance at an open-air performance as a storm rolls in is particularly haunting.

Lovers of dance should love this film. For others – if you hover on BBC 2 at Christmas when you catch a glimpse of tutus and tights, this is an opportunity to understand more, without anyone telling you to switch the channel.  However, if you’re not interested in ballet, the low-key storyline won’t hold you beyond the realisation that this film is what it says it is – all about ballet and those who dance.

THE COMPANY
General release, selected cinemas.

Director: Robert Altman
Writer: Neve Campbell and Barbara Turner
Stars: Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco, Barbara E. Robertson, William Dick, Susie Cusack, Marilyn Dodds Frank, John Lordan, Mariann Mayberry, Rick Peeples, Lar Lubovitch, Robert Desrosiers, Charthel Arthur, Cameron Basden
Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 112 mins
Country: USA / Germany
Year: 2003

© Catriona Paul, 2004