Beautifully filmed rubbish. The voiceover tells the tale. Dark screen: “Turn off your cell phones”, “no flash photography”. It's the Joffrey Ballet, one of America’s finest ballet companies. The opening dance, a contemporary piece with streamers that become rectangles isolating the dancers.

Neve Campbell plays Ry an up and coming dancer, who grabs her chance at the limelight when the opportunity arises. Mr. A, Malcolm McDowell, plays the company’s director, totally devoted the company and his “babies”, the dancers.

Dancers in motion, limbs, joints. Suite Saint-Saëns and a glimpse of the great company. The great outdoor scene placing this all on point as a gradual depiction on film of a live performance. Lightning, wind and rain (blown leaves) convey the physical drama

The film tries to depict life in and around a professional ballet company. The characters, the art, the trials, the heartache, the poverty of the artist. It's obvious that Altman and writer/actress Campbell aimed at giving the film a fly on the wall style documentary look. However if this is what the intention of the film was why attempt a fictional piece, why not film a documentary.

The camera work and cinematography, by Andrew Dunn deserves a mention. It is superb in capturing the dance scenes, but if this was the point of the film why not just shoot a ballet.

Apparently, Campbell wrote the story, which I find very hard to believe, as there clearly wasn’t one! I waited over an hour, one hour nine minutes and twelve seconds -believe me I counted, for anything of any significance to happen; the principal dancer tears her achilles. Altman is a brilliant director, but he just seemed to be absent from this film.
If it's ballet you want i would suggest... you go to the ballet. ?

Sony Pictures
Starring
Neve Campbell (Scream)
and Malcolm Macdowell (Clockwork Orange).
Directed by
Robert Altman (MASH, Prêt-a-Porter, Short Cuts, The Player)