MovieChat Forums > The Company (2004) Discussion > Ballet Dancer by Day..Pool Shark by Nigh...

Ballet Dancer by Day..Pool Shark by Night

posted 12 years ago by tzogas
2 replies | jump to latest

Look, I'm not necessarily trashing this movie or Neve Campbell (sp?) or anything like that (tho' I did find it depressing overall), but could moviemakers PLEASE stop trying to prop up characters' "cool factor" by showing them making Every Single Shot at solo pool? Like we're all supposed to be awfully impressed by this?

And does anyone really believe that a professional ballet dancer actually has the time and inclination to spend their precious few hours of free time practicing POOL?

Don't get me wrong; I'm sure there are plenty of people who regard pool as a way to relax and unwind, but even they must have to admit, they DON'T make every single freakin' shot, and even if they did, let me ask how many of them are ballet dancers? Anyone?

I mean, sheesh, even the nurses I spoke to at a hospital during my pre-natal checkup years ago, admitted that they didn't get much chance to watch t.v., they were so busy in their jobs. What are the odds that they were secret pool sharks in their spare time?

[–] daisygirlie 11 years ago

I'm really late here with a reply, but no one else has so here goes:

The film was actually based on the true story of a dancer and a guy working in a restaurant. The director of the company is based on a real person, as well, the real long time director of the Joffrey. Not only did they copy his mannerisms, but even the award speech is almost verbatim from the speech given by the actual director at the Joffrey Ballet. Ry's character is based on an actual ballet dancer from the corps (who is shown dancing in the corps in the movie) and she did in fact work at a goth bar/club in her off time to kind of release the pressure in her life. Also, the home video of "Ry's" dancing is actually the childhood dancing of the dancer whom they're representing in the movie.

So, to fully answer your question, yes it is possible for someone to be that good in their off time from dancing at something like pool or working in a goth club. Don't jump to conclusions. It'd be like me saying oh the guy that wrote the OP has a big fluffy pink elephant in his backyard. Do you? j/k :)

Sure, making every shot seems like overkill, but *my* (and this is only a guess) take on it was that the pool playing was a mirror of her quest for perfection in her dancing. Just like they showed each precise ballet movement, they show the precise playing of the game. It's also far from the only time we see things in movies that seem like overkill but are figurative ( and sometimes literal) parallels to a person's life.

Please don't make broad assessments about things - you never know when it might come back and bite you. On the same note, no, I don't think you have a big fluffy pink elephant in your backyard :)

[–] Keely 10 years ago

tzogas, i'm with you. What bothered me about the pool scene, even if it's "based on real life," is that it seemed like such a cliche. I was surprised at this because to me Robert Altman basically can do no wrong. But I felt a few scenes in this movie went just a little too much over the top and this was one of them.