'The Player' (1992)
A retrospective movie review by Walter Frith
Member of the 'Internet Movie Critics Association' http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5713/index.html
I saw 'The Player' when it was first released in 1992 and I viewed it at a 2nd run art house (that's a term used to describe a movie theatre that shows films that don't make a lot of money), and I didn't hear one chuckle from the audience in a building that was more than half full for its first evening performance so it's puzzling to me how the film can be called a "black comedy" by numerous other critics that have reviewed it. Black comedies are usually highly uneven because the comedy is so sharp and penetrating that it has to let up at some point to prepare you for the next strike by pounding your funny bone with a hammer. When I think of the term "black comedy" and ironically it's another film that examines the movie industry, Blake Edwards' 1981 film 'S.O.B.' comes to mind. That film threw in everything but the kitchen sink in its slapstick presentation of Hollywood politics and manipulating, and Edwards put his own trademark silliness found in many of his 'Pink Panther' films into the film's key moments.
Director Robert Altman's films are like documentaries in many cases but they always retain the academic flare that rank right up there with the most studio oriented films that are produced. Altman is perhaps best at developing the themes of his pictures in a very even fashion and the climax of all his films aren't executed to detract from the enjoyment of any other part of the film.
'The Player' is the type of non-Hollywood movie that almost every celebrity wanted to be in. It features literally dozens and dozens of cameos by big stars that I'm sure had their share of nasty studio politics and decided to slap the movie industry in the face by appearing in this big winner of a movie. The film's cynicism is so well hidden by its main plot that it comes off not only as a smart film but one that plays its main characters better and in a more realistic fashion than almost any other film made in the 1990's, so far.
Having worked for many years at the corporate end of the entertainment industry, I can tell you without hesitation that the type of wheeling and dealing, back stabbing, decadent behaviour and day to day operations in the movie industry are complete and on target throughout the entire film and hit a truthful note in every frame.
In 'The Player', we are shown one of the most ingenious opening scenes ever filmed as a long tracking shot (about 8 minutes) pans across the lot of a movie studio as various characters interact. Tim Robbins stars as a movie studio boss who is receiving threatening post cards in his office that contain death threats and he is determined to find out who is sending them. He tracks down who he believes is the culprit stalking him with the threats and he may or may not be correct in his assumption.
Without telling you who does what to who (you can discover that when you see the film), the film contains an old fashioned murder plot that fits into the context of the movie's suspense and complex character study and its story doesn't sell itself out at the end but rather has an ending that you may not like on the surface but deeper thought will convince you it's the right one.
'The Player' received three Oscar nominations (Best Director for Altman, Best Screenplay for Michael Tolkin based on his own novel and Best Film Editing). Understandably, it didn't get a nomination for Best Picture in a year that featured 'The Crying Game', 'A Few Good Men', 'Howard's End', 'Scent of a Woman', and the winner, 'Unforgiven' as the selected finalists. There was no way the Hollywood crowd was going to nominate a film mocking their industry and perhaps become the representative (if it won) of an award that is suppose to sugar coat the film industry, not show its darker side.
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