Film review by Kevin Patterson
THE PLAYER Rating: **** (out of four) R, 1992 Director: Robert Altman Screenplay: Michael Tolkin Starring Cast: Tim Robbins, Greta Schacchi, Peter Gallagher
THE PLAYER is one of those rare films that succeeds brilliantly despite the fact that the audience and the filmmakers probably hate most of the characters. A clever, sometimes humorous, and probably all too realistic satire of the movie industry, the film follows the ups and downs of studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), an aloof businessman who cynically manipulates the filmmaking process to serve his own interests and undercut those of his rival Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher). The extent of his coldness is revealed when he accidentally kills a disgruntled writer whom he believed was sending him death threats and smoothly manages to cover up the death. Everything from the selfish arrogance of the executives to their retuning of a movie for mass consumption to the pretensions of a self-important "message film" is skewered on the satirical sword of director Robert Altman and screenwriter Michael Tolkin. If you ever want to try to talk someone out of getting into the movie business, show them THE PLAYER.
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