"The Player"*** 1\2 (out of ****)
Robert Altman proves he is a Hollywood mover and shaker in "The Player" (1992)
"The Player" was seen as something of a "comeback" for a filmmaker that never went away. You can make the argument the 1970s in American cinema belonged to Robert Altman after the release of "M*A*S*H*" (1970), "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971), "Nashville" (1975) and "3 Women" (1977). The 1980s on the other hand were not as kind to Altman. Altman did release some triumphs; "Health" (1980) and "Secret Honor" (1984) but the decade was one that saw Altman drop out of favor with the public and lose critical acclaim.
"The Player" changed all that. A lot of people interpret "The Player" as a Hollywood satire. In some ways it is but I find Altman's movie works on more than one level and to describe it merely as a Hollywood satire or a Hollywood in-joke is to miss out on a lot of what the movie says.
The movie does center itself in the world of movies as we follow studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins). Mill is assigned the task of hearing movie pitches, weeding out the good from the bad, and pushing for those stories to be greenlit. Naturally with a job like that Griffin will make enemies (upset movie stars and young struggling writers). One of those writers have been sending Griffin postcards with threats written on them implying he will kill him. Apparently Griffin heard this writer's pitch and told him he would call him back. That was five months ago. Griffin may have annoyed the wrong person.
Griffin believes he has discovered who the irritated writer is - David Kahane (Vincent D' Onofrio). One day Griffin follows David to a movie theatre, hoping they get into an agreement but after a physical altercation, Griffin kills David. Griffin tries to trace his steps and remove all evidence of him being there but will the police find out what really happen?
This aspect of the movie may remind some of Woody Allen's "Crimes & Misdemeanors" (1989) where a character dares to suggest there is no moral guilt associated with murder. "The Player" seems to be operating on this same level. If the police aren't able to pin the murder on Griffin, Griffin should be able to live with himself. This also suggest, we really do live in two different worlds, one for the rich and one for everyone else. The rich and powerful really can get away with murder. "The Player" would seem to be making a social commentary instead of taking a jab at Hollywood. In the wonderful book "Altman on Altman" by David Thompson, Altman would seem to be confirming my interpretation, describing the subject of "The Player" as "it's all about greed, really, the biggest malady of our civilization, and it was Hollywood as a metaphor for society."
Altman and "The Player" are still able to make a commentary on Hollywood, poking fun at uncompromising artist that want to make "real" movies, "Hollywood endings", the influence of money in Hollywood and the back stabbing nature of the business. Altman however says his portrait of Hollywood isn't accurate stating "Hollywood is much crueler and uglier and more calculating" though does admit to lifting a few rocks of the business.
One funny moment occurs at the beginning of the movie. The opening sequence is done in one long take with the camera on a crane. We are seeing a movie studio and are briefly being introduced to some of the characters. Two characters are having a discussion about movies and one of them mentions Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" (1958), which is known for its own one take opening sequence. "The Player" has a lot of this kind of self referential humor.
The self referential humor is also seen whenever old movie posters are seen in Griffin's office. The posters are usually of noir films or mysteries and reflect or foreshadow were we are in the story.
There are also a large amount of cameo appearances made by a list of Altman regulars and other major stars which are humorous because they blur the line of fact and fiction. You can't initially tell when an actor is playing him or her self or a character. Appearances are made by Jack Lemmon, Burt Reynolds, Harry Belafonte, Steve Allen, Angelica Huston, John Cusack, Elliot Gould, Cher, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis and Whoopi Goldberg among many, many others.
In some ways only Robert Altman could have directed a movie like this. Altman had always been seen as an outsider. He never really belonged to the Hollywood studio system. His movies defied genres. He had a sarcastic sense of humor and a bit of a subversive streak in him. Yet he was nominated for best director at the Academy Awards for his work on this film.
Having said that it is rather ironic than that Altman initially was not interested in directing "The Player" instead he was focusing on what would become his next film, "Short Cuts" (1993). Altman thought the script for "The Player" was dreadful. The script was written by Michael Tolkin, based on his novel, also called "The Player". Altman said he and Tolkin were constantly rewriting the script as they were shooting the movie. It wasn't until they were halfway through shooting that the two came up with the ending. In the end the screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award.
No one would say the 1990s equal Altman's success of the 1970s but "The Player" rejuvenated the than 67 year old Altman's career. Practically every film he made afterwards was great in my opinion; "Shorts Cuts", "The Gingerbread Man" (1998), "Cookie's Fortune" (1999), "Gosford Park" (2001) and his final film "A Prairie Home Companion" (2006).
"The Player" is a slick cynical look at not only Hollywood but life in general. The world isn't fair. Terrible things happen. People die and their murderers aren't caught. And worst of all, Hollywood makes bad movies.
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