The Company

The Company is the latest soporific effort from thinking man's hack Robert Altman, who last treated us to an impressively drama free version of Julian Fellowes's excellent Gosford Park screenplay.

I imagine this was a more enjoyable shoot for Altman, as there's less plot to conceal, allowing him to indulge his taste for scenes without ends and mannered documentary-style pans.

The film follows a Chicago ballet company as it prepares for a major show and is primarily a vanity project for producer/co-writer/star Neve Campbell, who was a dancer herself before making movies like Scream and Wild Things.

The climax is a ludicrous production called Blue Snake, which features red monkeys dancing around a giant head.

Two rows behind me, I heard a child whisper, "But mummy, the Emperor's not wearing any clothes."