Center Stage (2000/I)

reviewed by
Shannon Patrick Sullivan


CENTER STAGE (2000) / ** 1/2

Directed by Nicholas Hytner. Screenplay by Carol Heikkinen. Starring Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana, Susan May Pratt. Running time: 116 minutes. Rated PG by the MFCB. Reviewed on May 21st, 2000.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

There is an undeniable formula to movies like "Center Stage". In their home towns, the protagonists -- usually young, athletic and attractive -- have enjoyed success in their field of choice (here, ballet). Then they are thrust into the limelight, and find things more difficult than they ever expected. Their struggles to overcome this adversity all lead up to a single pivotal event which will either make or break their futures.

There's no getting away from this recipe; audiences seem to enjoy it, and it's pretty easy to write. Hence it is rare to find a film in this genre which actually tries to do something different. "Center Stage" is not that film, and so the question becomes not whether it is creatively noteworthy, but whether it makes good use of familiar material. Fortunately, the answer is yes: "Center Stage" is by no means a milestone in movie history, but it is very enjoyable and even exceptional in certain respects.

More than anything else, what helps "Center Stage" to rise above the pack is that it exudes a feeling of authenticity. Director Nicholas Hytner has made the inspired decision to cast actual dancers in several of the lead roles. Not only are these actors really performing, then, but they've also endured many of the same ordeals that their characters encounter -- everything from blistered feet to demanding instructors. Often when these sorts of experiments are attempted in movies, they fail because the neophyte actors don't actually know how to act. "Center Stage" does not fall into the same trap, and while none of the castmembers exactly shine, for the most part they don't fall flat, either.

That said, likely the best performance amongst the large cast of characters comes from one of the actors who isn't a dancer by trade, Susan May Pratt as Maureen. Pratt enjoys what is probably the most complicated role in the film, as the star pupil of the American Ballet Academy who also happens to be its biggest snob. But Maureen's demeanour is as much a result of her domineering mother, and she yearns for a normal life outside ballet. Again, these are all timeworn character staples, but Pratt does a good job with Maureen, and wisely avoids Veronica Lodge-like exaggeration. Her development over the course of the movie is involving and believable, especially once she acquires a boyfriend and finds out how "normal" kids her age live.

Maureen's roommates include Jody (Amanda Schull), who has a lot of potential but can never seem to do things right; and the hot-headed Eva (Zoe Saldana). It is around Jody that "Center Stage" really revolves -- her dispiriting tribulations at the ABA, her attempts to recapture her love of ballet, and her romantic entanglements with ABA star Cooper (Ethan Stiefel) and the nebbish Charlie (Sascha Radetsky, sadly rather wooden and vapid throughout). Her story is the most routine, and while Schull herself is pleasant to watch, her character's misfortunes become grating after a while. The extent to which she blunders at the ABA is stretched to the point of disbelief, and at times the movie risks making her seem not just overwhelmed but downright incompetent.

Eva, a somewhat more interesting if no less stereotyped character, is unfortunately shunted to the background for large chunks of the movie. Indeed, there are so many subplots running through "Center Stage" that it is a credit to screenwriter Carol Heikkinen that the picture rarely feels cluttered. And while some stories are emphasised to the detriment of others, Heikkinen at least ensures that all of them achieve a modicum of development and completion.

The action of the movie follows the students through a year at the ABA. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, it all comes together at a major end-of-term concert which serves as an audition piece for ballet companies, particularly the prestigious American Ballet Company which Jonathan runs. Only three boys and three girls can be accepted into the Company, and the identities of the lucky winners will probably not come as much of a surprise.

Fortunately, despite the relative lack of suspense, this closing performance is altogether enthralling. The music, the choreography, the production design, and the skill of the dancers all contribute to a dazzling sequence which provides the perfect climax for the film. It also marks a splendid showcase of both classic and modern ballet, and is the best of several such performances littered throughout the movie. Only a rather bizarre editing decision midway through mars this scene, throwing the audience briefly out of the reality of the performance.

Nonetheless, the scene echoes the best of the Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, and the work of actor/dancers like Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. After viewing "Center Stage", it is hard not to mourn the death of the movie musical. This is not to say that, as a film, it is up to the standards of "An American In Paris" or "West Side Story". But "Center Stage" does make a valiant effort, and more than once it succeeds delightfully.

Copyright © 2000 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/CenterStage.html

-- _______________________________________________________________________ / Shannon Patrick Sullivan | "We are all in the gutter, but some of us \ | shannon@mun.ca | are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | Popcorn Gallery Movie Reviews www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html | | Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) /drwho.html |


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