The Player

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/17/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Robert Altman and written by Michael Tolkin that was based on his novel, The Player is about a Hollywood executive who thinks he's being blackmailed by a screenwriter over a rejected script as he accidentally kills the man leading to all sorts of trouble. The film explores the world of Hollywood and the film industry itself about how they run things. With a cast that included 60 cameos, the film stars Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Whoopi Goldberg, Lyle Lovett, Cynthia Stevenson, Richard E. Grant, Fred Ward, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Sydney Pollock. Plus, appearances by many, many, many, many actors, writers, producers, and directors. The Player is a witty yet entertaining satire Robert Altman.

Working as a studio exec, Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) is a mover and shaker who hears writers and directors making pitch after pitch. Among them is director Alan Rudolph and another is writer Buck Henry who is pitching an idea for a sequel to The Graduate that he wrote. Surrounded by the likes of people including his girlfriend and story editor Bonnie (Cynthia Stevenson), Griffin seems to be the man in line to replace his boss Joel Levison (Brion James) as the studio head. Then came Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher) who has left Fox to join the studio and is now becoming the likely replacement. Mill's mentor Dick Mellon (Sydney Pollack) suggest to try and make moves and get Levy as an ally. Making things worse for Mill is a series of mysterious postcards he's been getting from a disgruntled writer whose screenplay he has rejected. Talking with his head of security in Walter Stuckel (Fred Ward), he finds the name of a writer he rejected named David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio).

Going to his address home, he finds a Icelandic woman named June Gudmundsdottir (Greta Scacchi) painting the house where he calls her from his mobile phone where they have a conversation and Kahane's whereabouts. He finds Kahane at a screening for Vittorio de Sica's The Bicycle Thief where the two have a conversation about endings and the script that Mill rejected about Kahane's life as a student in Japan. After an argument in a parking lot, the two have a fight where Mill accidentally kills Kahane. The next day, the news of Kahane's murder is all over Hollywood as Stuckel interrogates Mill about what had happened. After attending a funeral for Kahane, Mill meets June who finds herself out of place in the funeral as Mill learns he is being followed by a man named DeLongpre (Lyle Lovett). Mill is then investigated by a detective from Pasadena named Susan Avery (Whoopi Goldberg) who is charmed by Mill and his knowledge of film.

After getting away from an investigation, Mill receives another letter where he realizes that he killed the wrong man. The letters continue where Mill receives comfort from June as he decides to meet the man who sent him the letters. Unfortunately, he never meets him and instead, meets a British director named Tom Oakley (Richard E. Grant) and his co-writer Andy Civella (Dean Stockwell) about a film called Habeas Corpus. The pitch is successful despite the fact that it's against everything that Hollywood has been known for. Mill takes Oakley's pitch to Levy who decides to make it into his project despite the fact that they're not going into the traditional Hollywood format. After going into another investigation with Avery and meets DeLongpre, Mill learns that he's a suspect and he's being ridiculed after DeLongpre mentions Tod Browning's Freaks. Hoping to make an escape from everything, Mill takes a vacation to Mexico with June as he awaits his own fate.

While Hollywood is looked at as a place where risk isn't worth taking, Robert Altman is aware of how cruel the film industry can be. Despite Altman's cynicism, he choose to make Hollywood's slick world and turn it upside down to see how it works and how absurd it is. Altman and writer Michael Tolkin aren't making fun of it but reveal how the industry had changed from the Golden Age of Hollywood and the 1970s to the more commercial, blockbuster-driven 1980s and early 1990s. There's moments where Walter Stuckel talks about how the MTV-editing style has really ruined films while talking about Touch of Evil by Orson Welles where it had an opening, one-take, eight-minute sequence. Altman does the same thing to convey that style while he also reveals Hollywood's cynicism about reality and their idea for the happy ending which is totally Hollywood.

The film is really about this individual who is a mover-and-shaker of Hollywood who is confronted by a mysterious writer who is angry over rejection. When he meets Kahane, they discuss about the endings of Hollywood and art films. Griffin Mill is the protagonist but a villain as well. Yet, Mill is a character audience is supposed to hate because he hates writers for their demand to have control. Still, Mill is a character whose charm and personality is so winning, it's hard to hate a guy like that. While Altman chose to focus on this shady character like Mill, he makes Mill the driving force of this story about Hollywood and how they work.

Then comes the ending which is both ambiguous and ironic. Particularly on what the whole conflict of what is discussed during the movie. Altman makes the ending work for its humor as well as his approach by adding the same Altman-esque sense of improvisation and overlapping dialogue where the cameo appearances from actors have their moment expressing their frustration and excitements over films. The result is truly an entertaining and witty film from the late, great Robert Altman.

Cinematographer Jean Lepine does some excellent camerawork that's mostly done in a documentary-like style with no flashy photography or anything stylish. Altman's son and longtime production designer Stephen Altman and art director Jerry Fleming do amazing work in capturing the posh, slick look of Hollywood and the arty home of June. Costume designer Alexander Julian also does excellent work in creating the suits and clothing of the studio executives as well as the flowing clothes of June. Altman's longtime editor, the late Geraldine Peroni along with Maysie Hoy does excellent work in the editing to shift sequence to sequence while going into perspective cuts to convey the sense of atmosphere in the studios as well as that one-take opening sequence. Sound editor Michael P. Redbourn does some fine work in the film's sound to reveal the sense of tension of some of the film's suspenseful sequences. Music composer Thomas Newman brings a wonderfully melodic and suspenseful score to some of the film's suspense while adding a lot of playful melodies for the rest of the film.

Then there's the cast that is filled with many cameos that it's really up to the viewer to see who is there and such. Smaller performances from Gina Gershon, Jeremy Piven, and Randall Batinkoff as the young executives are wonderful with Dina Merrill as head assistant Celia and Angela Hall as Mill's secretary Jan. The late Brion James is excellent as the old yet wise Joel Levison while Peter Gallagher is great as the smarmy, slick Larry Levy. Lyle Lovett is great as the mysterious DeLongpre whose mysterious presence and motives only reveal the humor in the film Freaks.

Whoopi Goldberg is great as the detective Susan Avery who is charmed by Mill but also counters his charm in wanting to close a case while has a great line during a witness scene. Sydney Pollock is excellent in a small role as Mill's longtime advisor who cautions him on what to do with his career and how to deal with everything else that could affect it. Fred Ward is wonderfully funny as the security chief who loves the old film noir and detective stories of the 1940s and 1950s while revealing his disgust towards the films of the 1980s.

Dean Stockwell and Richard E. Grant are wonderfully funny as the writers of a film with Grant as the director who reveal their intentions while having a funny scene of telling Andie MacDowell not to go to Montana in reference to the film Heaven's Gate. Cynthia Stevenson is great as the moralistic girlfriend of Mill in Bonnie, who seems like the only person in the film that tries to do the right thing. Especially in the film's ending when she's forced to see a film that's changed and doesn't fit in with what Hollywood wants.

Vincent D'Onofrio is great as the frustrated yet brilliant David Kahane whose hatred for studios and Hollywood reveal the talents and how Hollywood has little time for talent and more for marketing and money. Greta Scacchi is excellent as the arty yet sweet June who doesn't understand anything about David and feels more in line in what Mill wants as Scacchi is the perfect leading lady for Mill. Finally, there's Tim Robbins in one of his great performances as the sleazy yet charming Griffin Mill. Though Robbins is playing a very devious villain, he manages to make the character likeable enough without a lot of emotions as he's just an asshole who just wants to make money and be a player. It's a great performance from Tim Robbins.

The Player is a fantastic film from Robert Altman that features a marvelous performance from Tim Robbins. The film isn't just a very funny take on the world of Hollywood but also in the way it shows a world as cruel as Hollywood. It's also a very rich ensemble piece that features a lot of funny references to the world of film. In the end, The Player is a brilliant film from Robert Altman.

Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) - (The James Dean Story) - Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) - M.A.S.H. - Brewster McCloud - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) - The Long Goodbye - Thieves Like Us - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson - 3 Women - (A Wedding) - (Quintet) - (A Perfect Couple) - (HealtH) - Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) - (Streamers) - (Secret Honor) - (O.C. and Stiggs) - Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) - (Aria-Les Boreades) - (Tanner ‘88) - (Vincent & Theo) - Short Cuts - Pret-a-Porter - (Kansas City) - (The Gingerbread Man) - Cookie’s Fortune - Dr. T & the Women - Gosford Park - The Company (2003 film) - (Tanner on Tanner) - A Prairie Home Companion

© thevoid99 2013

Bastard Out of Carolina

Based on Dorothy Allison’s novel, Bastard Out of Carolina is the story of a young woman’s illegitimate daughter who becomes a victim of the physical and sexual abuse of her stepfather during the 1950s in rural South Carolina. Directed by acclaimed actress Anjelica Huston in her directorial debut with a teleplay by Anne Meredith, the TV-film explores a woman’s struggle to love her husband while dealing with her daughter’s abuse as her family watches in horror. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ron Eldard, Glenne Headly, Dermont Mulroney, Grace Zabriskie, Diana Scarwid, Lyle Lovett, Susan Traylor, Michael Rooker, and in film debut, Jena Malone along with narration by Laura Dern. Bastard Out of Carolina is a harrowing and heartbreaking film from Anjelica Huston.

After giving birth to her first baby in a state of unconsciousness, following a car accident, and then losing her first husband (Dermont Mulroney) before the birth of second child. The life of Anney Boatwright (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has been a difficult one as she’s raising two young girls in Reece (Lindley Mayer) and Ruth Anne (Jena Malone), who is also called Bone, while living with her mother (Grace Zabriskie) and surrounded by a close though dysfunctional family. When her brother Earl (Michael Rooker) introduces Anney to Glen Waddell (Ron Eldard), Anney is smitten by Glen as the two start a relationship though Anney’s mother isn’t sure about the relationship while knowing that Glen comes from a very rich family.

After the two wed and Anney is expecting another child, things seem to go well until one night when Glen is waiting in the car with Reece and Bone as he wakes Bone up and molests her. Bone becomes confused over what happened as the child Anney gave birth to died stillborn as she and Glen move to various places as Glen struggles to hold down a job. During a visit to the home of Glen’s father (Pat Hingle) where things go wrong, Glen later takes out all of his frustrations on Bone as she would have to endure countless abuse until a doctor asks Anney about what’s going on. Bone, Reece, and Anney stay temporarily with Anney’s sister Alma (Susan Traylor) and her husband Wade (Lyle Lovett) until Glen asks Anney to come home.

When Anney’s older sister Ruth (Glenne Headly) falls ill, Bone is asked to help take care of her, Ruth wants to know what is going on with Glen as she asks Bone about what he’s been doing to her. Bone couldn’t muster up the courage to tell as she returns home to endure another beating as Earl and her aunt Raylene (Diana Scarwid) find out what Glen did to Bone. Earl and Raylene let Bone stay at Raylene’s river home as another family crisis involving Alma brings the family together. When Bone tells her mother that she won’t come because of Glen, Anney finds herself torn between her love for both Glen and Bone.

Films about child abuse can often lead to sentimental and very overwrought ideas but this film is not about child abuse. Instead, it’s about a woman torn between the devotion of her new husband who loves and cares for her though he also has a temper and acts like a grown child. The other thing that this woman loves is her eldest yet illegitimate daughter as she had grown up without a real father figure though she was able to be loved by a man who was later killed in an accident. For this woman, she is desperate to have a man in her life away from her mother and her rural background. Yet, she also has her daughter whom she loves so much but couldn’t bear to see her be harmed in such a gruesome way.

Anne Meredith’s teleplay definitely goes into depths of what Anney Boatwright is going through as she had someone who loved her but then died right away as she hopes to find someone who can get her out of the environment she lives in. While Anney has a family that does love and care for her, despite being quite dysfunctional, she needs a man to be with her so she wouldn’t have to take care of her tired mother. While Glen isn’t a complete bad man, he is earnest in his love for Anney and Reese while is also a victim of abuse from the way his father treats him. Due to what he’s gone through, Glen is forced to take out all of his anger and yearning to be loved by abusing Bone.

The narration, that is told by Laura Dern as the older Bone, has Bone reflecting on the misfortune of her entire life as due to the confusion of her birth certificate, Bone was certified a bastard from the day she was born. Though Anney wants to do good for Bone, her devotion to Glen makes Bone feel more on the outs as she clings to the people in her extended family such as the spiritual Ruth, the playful Earl, and the hardened but wise Raylene. Since she feels like Glen doesn’t love her at all and going through all of this abuse, Bone becomes a much more weary and grounded child that has lost her innocence. Through all of this, she becomes more confused into why her mother would still be in love with a man that would do a thing to her.

Anne Meredith’s script gives director Anjelica Huston the chance to create a film that doesn’t stray into the conventions of TV movies while allowing herself to get her hands dirty in exploring its subject matter. Huston’s direction has a wonderful sense of intimacy for a lot of the dramatic scenes while some of it is very eerie. Notably the scene where Bone is being molested for the first time as Huston has the camera solely focused on Bone. Huston knows what to do while not making it too graphic as she also keeps some of the scenes simple in the way she presents the film. Overall, it is an impressive directorial debut from Anjelica Huston.

Cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond does an excellent job with the photography as it‘s straightforward though is set in a very gray time as it‘s shot on location in North Carolina. Richmond also creates some amazing shots and shadings to emphasize the dark tone of the film for scenes of Bone dealing with everything around her. Editor Eva Gardos does a wonderful job with the editing to maintain a leisured pace to the film while doing a few rhythmic cuts to play up some of the intense drama and heightened moments in the film.

Production designers Nelson Coates and Van Broughton Ramsey, along with set decorator Burton Rencher, do great work with the art direction to play up the world of rural South Carolina in its poor, working class environment that many of the characters live in. Ramsey’s work on the costume design is superb to play up that poor look with its very casual yet grimy clothing while making some stylish clothes such as Anney‘s waitress dress. Sound editor David Hankins does a nice job with the sound to play up the sparse intimacy of the homes that Bone goes to as well as a few scenes to liven things up for its large ensemble cast.

The film’s score by Van Dyke Parks is pretty good for its haunting yet dramatic orchestral score to play up some of the harrowing moments of the film. The music soundtrack that is supervised by Robin Urdang features an array of old-school 1950s gospel and country music that features pieces from Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, the Carter Family, George Jones, Wanda Jackson, and Blind Willie Johnson as the music pieces selected for the film is a major highlight.

The casting of John Brace and Linda Lowy is brilliant as they created what is truly an amazing ensemble cast. Small but notable appearances include Dermont Mulroney as Anney’s kind first husband Lyle, Richard Todd Sullivan as Ruth’s husband Travis, Christina Ricci as Ruth’s teenage daughter Dee Dee, and Pat Hingle as Glen’s spiteful father. Other notable small but memorable roles include Lindley Mayer as Bone’s younger sister Reece, Lyle Lovett as Bone’s uncle Wade, Susan Traylor as the no-nonsense Alma, and Grace Zabriskie as Anney’s tough and suspicious mother who has mixed feelings about Glen early on.

Glenne Headly is very good as Bone’s saintly yet lively aunt Ruth who tries to get everyone to feel good while becoming very concerned about Bone during her illness. Diana Scarwid is excellent as aunt Raylene, a wise yet grounded woman who takes Bone in while trying to make understanding of everything Bone has gone through. Michael Rooker is wonderful as Bone’s uncle Earl who is a fun guy that loves his niece while being the only true male protector she has when dealing with Glen. Ron Eldard is great in a terrifying performance as Glen, an immature man who truly loves Anney yet harbors great resentment towards Bone as Eldard truly brings a complexity to a man that hates this young girl for making Anney choose between him and her.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is superb as Anney, a woman that has experienced loss and turmoil as she is desperate to hold on to the man that loves while being tormented by the fact that he abuses her daughter. Leigh’s performance is definitely harrowing for the fact that this woman is in complete conflict while she doesn’t make Anney a character to despise for the decisions that she makes. Finally, there’s Jena Malone in her feature-film debut as it is truly one of the most outstanding debut performances for any actress. Malone brings a wide range ideas into her role as someone who can be very charming and witty in light-hearted scenes while showing that she’s capable of being very engaging in darker scenes. Though she was only 10 when she did the film, it is truly a performance for the ages for the way she exudes all of the anguish and emotional turmoil that Bone goes through as it’s a mesmerizing yet heartbreaking performance from Jena Malone.

Bastard Out of Carolina is a marvelous though unsettling TV-film from Anjelica Huston that features a great ensemble cast led by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jena Malone. It’s not an easy film to watch due to its subject matter and the fact that Huston doesn’t hold things back in terms of its dark themes. Bastard Out of Carolina is a sensational yet eerie film from Anjelica Huston.

© thevoid99 2011