The Player

 

 

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Everybody in Hollywood takes the cheap-and-dirty approach to success -- even to successful murder.

That's the theme to Robert Altman's bitter, tart, and hilarious black comedy "The Player," based on Michael Tolkin's novel. The caustic observations and barbed wit bring Hollywood's nastiness to light, and Altman's minimalist direction only underscores the brilliant script and acting.

Exec Griffin (Tim Robbins) is nervous enough about his increasingly imperilled job. But then postcards with death threats start arriving -- apparently from a writer he lied to months ago. After some research, he thinks he's found the guy -- David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), a POed writer whose script he mercilessly rejected. After a disastrous meeting with David, Griffin kills him in an alley.

But that's not the end -- the threatening messages keep coming, and Griffin becomes more desperate as he becomes a suspect in Kahane's murder. He also becomes fascinated by David's chilly artist girlfriend (Greta Scacchi), and tries to bury his fear in an awkward love affair. But as the investigation heats up, Griffin is threatened with the ultimate cancellation.

If "The Player" has a meaning, it's that everyone who wants power in Hollywood has to sell their souls -- legally, personally, or just by selling out so your movie has a pat happy ending. Like planets being sucked into a black hole, they all get pulled in by the lure of affluence -- they don't even notice their souls vanishing!

It's also wickedly funny to watch. Altman peppers the movie with celebrity cameos (John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Bruce Willis, to name a few). The dialogue is simply brilliant -- at one point, Robbins muses, "I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we could just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we've got something here." Talk about a reality TV prediction.

Altman's style is minimalist here, with lots of tense moments, sexy interludes -- right up to the ironic twist finale, which makes you wonder for a moment just how much of "The Player" is really fiction. And during dramatic scenes (the murder, the cobra, the phone calls), Altman stretches the tension as taut as a wire, and leaves it to slowly slacken over the scenes that follow. The only scene that doesn't work is the police interrogation with Whoopi Goldberg. Really, it's cringeworthy.

Tim Robbins is simply brilliant as the cold-blooded Griffin, especially since he looks so boyish and bewildered -- you don't know whether to cheer for or against him. Scacchi is quite good as the even chillier painter who falls for him, and the other characters are pure satire -- the movie creators don't watch movies, and if they did, they'd only want to remake it with a happy ending.

"The Player" is one of those brilliant movies that skewer Hollywood, and make you glad that it exists... just so long as it occasionally gives us a piece of satire like this one, instead of a mindless blockbuster. Hilarious and needling.

Tim Robbins stars as Griffin Mill, a hot-shot movie studio executive who has the power to make or break people and careers. Griffin is the man who hears story pitches and approves them to be made or passes on them. One of the writers he turned down starts stalking him and then threatens to kill him, turning Griffin's life upside-down. One night he meets the writer in a dark parking lot and things get way out of hand. Griffin then has to stay one step ahead of a police detective (Whoppi Goldberg) while romancing the writer's girlfriend.

This dramady movie-within-a-movie exposes the cold and shallow side of the movie business with a scathing, nudge-nudge-wink-wink story and such obvious delight you can almost hear director Robert Altman giggling. Altman loves overlapping-dialogue and the film has an intimate, eaves-dropping feel to it. To make it even more in-crowd and hip, there are sixty-five celebrity cameos - everyone from Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis to Harry Belafonte and Cher. Some of the stars play themselves and others have bit parts. You really have to see the movie more than once to catch them all; clearly, a good time was had by everyone. Tim Robbins carries the film with his cocky confidence, and Greta Scacchi is cool and mysterious as his love interest. The clever ending will make you smile and want to see it all again. The VHS version has some nice extras - a revealing interview with Altman and deleted scenes. Highly recommended, especially if you'd like to know what really goes on behind-the-scenes in Tinsel Town.

This is full of great moments, great shots, great humor. It's almost a truly great film. But the few moments it gets too smug and/or cartoony for it's own good take a tiny something away from the 90% of the time it brilliantly walks the thin, nearly impossible line of perfect satire. When it tries to be funny, it pushes a little hard. But when it just observes the absurdity with a clinical, `this isn't too far from reality' eye, it's quite amazing. Even with it's minor flaws, a terrific film, and a must see film for any Altman fan - or film fan for that matter. The opening shot alone is worth the movie!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Elle est formidable, vraiment unique, une vrai de vrai. J'ai adoré Whoopi Goldberg est vraiment la meilleure star. WoW Line

Published on April 22 2008 by Line Hallé

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping & Hilarious!
Only Robert Altman could make a movie like this. With its huge, sprawling cast of talented actors and famous people dropping by for cameos, Altman has created one of the best... Read more

Published on Jun 29 2004 by Brennon A. Slattery

5.0 out of 5 stars "IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT, GRIFF..."
This is one of my all-time favorite films, a scathing, paced look at inside Hollywood that deciphers the netherworld of studio execs, producers, directors, actors and, most... Read more

Published on Jun 26 2004 by Steven Travers

5.0 out of 5 stars A Keeper!
This is a great movie! I usually shy away from Tim Robbins' work, ever since "Bull Durham" anyway. His politics are the reason, I cannot stand the sanctimonious "message" movies... Read more

Published on Mar 7 2004 by S. Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars Making a "Killing" in Showbiz (4.5 stars)
Can movies about the movie business actually be exciting and worth watching? "The Player" most certainly is an exciting and worth-while film that has many layers within... Read more

Published on Jan 29 2004 by Michael Crane

3.0 out of 5 stars ALTMAN'S HOLLYWOOD
A dazzling array of mega-celebrities in sometimes silent incidental cameo roles make Robert Altman's "The Player" like an autograph fantasy walk down Hollywood... Read more

Published on Nov 26 2003 by Guy De Federicis

4.0 out of 5 stars Smart, not what I thought it was going to be but better
Robbins does a terrific turn in this film about the cliques and backstabbing in the movie business. Over 50 stars make appearances... Read more

Published on Nov 18 2003 by Alicia Walker

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but not the masterpiece it is sometimes said to be..
Tim Robbins is Griffin Mill, a Hollywood executive who spends his working day listening to pitches. He's made it, he's a player, an insider: big starts recognize him in exclusive... Read more

Published on Sep 21 2003 by snalen

5.0 out of 5 stars The best anti-Hollywood film ever made by Hollywood
Griffin Mill is a young hotshot producer who everyone bows and scrapes to because he has the powers to get a movie made. Read more

Published on Aug 17 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars A SPOOF OF ITSELF?
If Short Cuts, Gosford Park, Pret A Porter etc are anything to go by, Robert Altman does not make "simple" movies, not in the conventional sense of the word. Read more

Published on Jun 24 2003 by Shashank Tripathi

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