The Company (2003)

70% of critics liked it
(125 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(7,316 ratings)

Robert Altman directs the musical drama The Company from an original story by actress Neve Campbell, based on her own experiences with The National Ballet of Canada. At the center of the ensemble cast is the young dancer Ry (Campbell), a rising star with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. She struggles… More Robert Altman directs the musical drama The Company from an original story by actress Neve Campbell, based on her own experiences with The National Ballet of Canada. At the center of the ensemble cast is the young dancer Ry (Campbell), a rising star with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. She struggles with the demands of being a dancer while supporting herself as a waitress and starting up a romance with Josh (James Franco). Meanwhile, the ballet company director, Alberto Antonelli (Malcolm McDowell), manages to balance his own administrative and artistic duties. Campbell does her own dancing in the film and the rest of the company is played by the actual members of the Joffrey Ballet. The Company was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Robert Altman
Written By: Barbara Turner
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International

In Theaters: Dec 25, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Jun 1, 2004
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Altman ... whose intuition for placing the camera in just the right spot has always been impressive. In the dance scenes, it's flawless.
Kenneth LaFave, Arizona Republic
Altman thrusts upon the audience the responsibility of connecting the dots. But the dots don't connect, and instead of the resolution that generally follows tension, there is a feeling of having missed something.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
It neither adores nor disapproves of its players, which leaves the moviegoer a little clueless, and unmoved.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
The measured pace of The Company could tax the patience of some, but the dancing is so well executed, and so energetic, that only the most dance-averse members of the audience would likely object.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
A love letter to performers who put their egos and bodies on the line.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
A documentary-like movie that's as self-absorbed and artificial as those reality shows now littering network television -- and enragingly pretentious, to boot.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Excellent look at what goes into creating ballet.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Dance sequences, both in the studio and in performance, make up the symbolic and potent thrust of this enjoyable yet confined movie.
Kam Williams, Princeton Town Topics
Eschews any concern with the cinematic foreground in favor of wide-angled pans across an expanded back cast encouraged to indulge in Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue.
Douglas Pratt, Movie City News
The film also has what no other ballet movie dares to have, and that is Altman's wry sense of humor.
Andrew Wright, Portland Mercury
[Altman's] trademarks -- invisible editing, doped-up zooms, overlapping conversations -- are all on display, but those looking for any sense of momentum will be disappointed.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...can be read as a movie about movie-making, about how casts are assembled and tricked...into yielding something more profound than they might have thought themselves capable
Thomas Peyser, Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)
[Altman] fondly documents the ins and outs of this notoriously exotic gang of artists as if he were an amateur anthropologist smitten by an eccentric tribe.
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
My feeling is that The Company is meant to be enjoyed just as we would enjoy the dance it chronicles. It's a miscalculation, but not a grave offense.
Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine
The venerable Altman's distinctive eye remains undimmed.

Read all 15 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Steven C

"The Company" is Robert Altman's most naturalistic and expressive film. The thing you have to understand about the picture is that Altman is not concerned with crafting a structured narrative. He is concerned with observing. "The Company" is a fly on the wall… More
"The Company" is Robert Altman's most naturalistic and expressive film. The thing you have to understand about the picture is that Altman is not concerned with crafting a structured narrative. He is concerned with observing. "The Company" is a fly on the wall peek into the world of a ballet company (a fictional one of course). The behind the scenes-esque approach is intercut with beautiful dance sequences. Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell and James Franco bring a human, organic touch to the film. "The Company" is not for everyone. Your tolerance of the film will stem from your relationship to dance and your ability to be a voyeur in this world and not an active participant. In his penultimate feature film, Robert Altman was still finding new and interesting ways to tell a cinematic story.
Jennifer X

This was a really bad movie, I'm sort of ashamed that Robert Altman was connected to this project. Then why did I give it three stars? Mainly because the ballet sequences were stunning. When everybody just shut their mouths and started spinning, it was just magic.
Arash X

Uninteresting, I really expected more from Altman, Just a showcase of dance pieces & I never liked dance movies
Alice S

Very odd. Not bad, just odd, which I have come to expect from Altman's films. There is no cohesive plot and no real character development. Neve Campbell is a wonderful dancer and does not oversell her role. Altman's signature camera really tells the story - long takes,… More
Very odd. Not bad, just odd, which I have come to expect from Altman's films. There is no cohesive plot and no real character development. Neve Campbell is a wonderful dancer and does not oversell her role. Altman's signature camera really tells the story - long takes, wide shots, awkward placement.
Dean M

This ballet movie with Neve Campbell (she's a real-life one-time ballerina) doesn't seems really interested to me, but the dance sequences in the ballet scenes are quite okay.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"The Company" is a docudrama about the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, as led by their legendary artistic director, Alberto Antonelli(Malcolm McDowell). The movie is directed by Robert Altman in a verite style, even the sequences about the dancers'… More
[font=Century Gothic]"The Company" is a docudrama about the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, as led by their legendary artistic director, Alberto Antonelli(Malcolm McDowell). The movie is directed by Robert Altman in a verite style, even the sequences about the dancers' private lives. It follows the dancers from the ballet proposal to rehearsal to backstage to performance. Two of the ballets stand out as exceptional - an outdoor performance and the one that climaxes the film.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]My main question about "The Company", is if you're going to make a film with this approach, why not make a documentary? Well, you would miss out on Malcolm McDowell's very entertaining performance...but as a drama, the movie lacks any real storylines. There are themes explored like what dancers(particularly the women) have to sacrifice in order to have a career dancing(And is it possible to have a movie about ballet that would not have that debate?) and the low pay of the dancers. For example, one apartment has dancers sleeping on the floor from wall to wall and one dancer makes ends meet as a waitress while living in an apartment next to the El tracks.(Location notwithstanding, it is a very cool apartment.)[/font]
Yinalí R

Uhh, well the art is good and all, but the movie was utterly boring.