Tonight’s movie, The Player directed by Robert Altman, definitely sent the viewer on a crazy and twisted journey. Right from the beginning, you’re not really sure what type of movie you’re watching or what it really is going to be about. You know you’re located at a large studio in Hollywood with big name people all around. There’s a conversation about something film in every room and at every corner throughout the entire lot. There are relationships and trickery to get the best plot and actors. A random threatening postcard shows up to a Vice President of a film company. Then, out of nowhere, the main character Griffin Mill, played by Tim Robbins, murders an innocent writer in the back lot of a theater. Talk about crazy?!?! What’s more, he then begins to fall in love with the girlfriend of the writer he just murdered. WHAT?!? Obviously, this film keeps the viewer guessing throughout the entire movie.
At first, this film just seemed odd and out of place. I felt uncomfortable, like I was seeing and hearing something that I wasn’t supposed to. But after the initial craziness in the film, I started to feel at ease with the movie. I began to get to know the characters and feel acquainted with the set. Then random scenes would push me back out of my comfort zone in the film. Every time I felt settled, the movie didn’t want to let me remain there for long. This film definitely pushes the viewer out of her comfort zone to keep her involved in the story, which is all part of its genre of film noir.
Throughout the entire film, I constantly changed my mind about each character and idea presented. I think that’s the main reason why I enjoyed the movie. It kept me interested in what was going on but also allowed me to come up with my own endings. Although there was obviously an ending to the film, many different things could have happened. Altman set the film up so that the viewer could have an active role in predicting what would or could happen in the end.
This film portrayed Hollywood and filmmaking as a nasty, nasty business. It’s all about money, who you know, and what resources you can scrounge up. It even made me feel like it’s not really about talent. If you want to make it in the film business, you have to be quick on your feet and have connections. This film also showed that Hollywood is full of lies and deceit. It’s all one big cover up of the truth. And most importantly (at least to me), it revealed that anything can happen in odd situations. I enjoyed this film and I think it’s worth everyone's while to watch it at least once.
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You've put your finger on one reason critics love Altman. He seems to be a collaborator, not a puppetmaster. He lets the actors and audience and all his crew have a role in making the movie. Sometimes that doesn't work out -- it's a mess -- but sometimes, complete magic happens, and we feel so grateful to have been in the presence of such a generous artist.
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