The film is supposed to be about Ry (Neve Campbell) a ballerina with the Joffery Ballet Company and follow her life with the company and how she supports herself as a waitress. The film actually focuses on the company; it’s dancers, the “office” politics and the exquisite dancing.

The real stars in the film are the dancers of the Joffery Ballet Company. The movie skims over the acting, the performances are not bad, they are really good but they are far and few in between, which is fine because when the ballet starts you don’t want it to stop. The dance sequence that opens the movie is… for lack of a word WOW. The only actor that really stands out is Malcolm McDowell as the ballet company director because he gets the most screen time. The acting style in the movie is natural, raw and realistic. The story seems to be based more in reality than fiction; it’s more like a documentary with sprinkles of fiction for flavour rather than an actual movie. Which isn’t bad, it just makes for a different cinematic experience.

The film is the ballet equivalent of the mindless action movie for action fans, where the plot is thin and the genre thick. That isn’t to say that it is a bad film, I think it was made to make ballet more accessible to the masses. If you are in the mood for something arty and cultured without burning out brain cells this is perfect. Something beautiful that isn’t draining to watch.

CAST: Malcolm McDowell, Neve Campbell, James Franco and The Joffery Ballet Company

DIRECTOR: Robert Altman

RUNNING TIME: 112 minutes

AGE RESTICTION: All

GENRE: Musical Drama

RELEASE DATE: 1 October 2004

RATING: 8/10

“A Ballet Lovers Dream Movie With Appeal To Non-Lovers”

Buy it now

Review by Punjabi_Goth for Africasgateway.com

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