Last week on Thursday, March 11 was movie week once again, and this time we watched another "thriller", called The Player. It was directed by Robert Altman and was an eclectic mix of genres and themes. It was confusing and a bit uncomfortable in many of the scenes, and this is all explained by the fact that it was a more recent version of Film Noir. Sure, it was covered up with Hollywood sunshine and bright colors, but all the other elements were there. The offbeat music, a screwed-up main character, a "private eye investigator" vibe, the "femme fatale", and imperfect shots or lighting. There were also quite a few creepy, off-balance, and outright uncomfortable-to-watch scenes. Other than that, I liked the movie and the message it portrayed to its audience.

But first, there were a few cinematographic elements that surprised and impressed me. The stopping on movie posters in Griffin's office to portray a fitting quote for the situation was one way to get the audience to actually think something about its characters directly. There's no way for the audience to twist the quotes around and become misled (unless it was purposeful); there were probably just different interpretations of what it meant. Also, this movie is well known for it's incredibly long shots if not anything else. The opening scene was a long shift between employees of the company and their conversations, or the writers' pitches to Griffin. So, you get a realistic, but wide view of the setting and mood from the beginning. Lastly, I was very interested in the returning pattern of filming the actors through windows or in reflections. It had an even more uncomfortable mood when it seemed you were watching people through the window, and even more so when Griffin does this to June. I admired the overall feeling of reality, with good sound transition and cameras at eye-level during dialogue.

The theme was another interesting element of the film. It's another movie about movies, but this time it has much more of a mocking and satirical feel than the others. The director seems to be showing us that you as an audience are suckers who prefer light, happy endings and allow yourselves to fall for the trick every time. The fact that this movie has a "happy" ending where the villian/main character gets away scot-free with murder tinges the end with poison. I know I was a bit disappointed in it, as well as many others who watched. But he makes a good point: reality doesn't always have a sweet, happy ending, and people are completely evil at times. He makes another good point about Hollywood too. It's driven by money and success; it's an endless and brutal competition to have the best script, story, and eventually movie. The fact that Altman was an independent director explains that he obviously had a problem with this corporate system. Well, that's my review, all I can say is you're in for a smart, offbeat, and unique film.