The Player

Tim Robbins is Griffin Mill, The Player, and countless other Hollywood stars are themselves in Robert Altman's much hyped, and much lauded cinematic feast. The plot is fairly standard thriller fare, but the real fun comes from playing spot the star, and from the satirical wit with which Altman pokes good ol' Tinseltown. Or perhaps that should read 'tears apart', for that is what he does; all the hypocrisy and conniving of the system is revealed, most notably in the film within a film (Richard E. Grant is just great). The acting is superb, the direction sublime (get that opening tracking shot), and the whole piece thoroughly entertaining. Go see.

Review by Malcolm Maclaren
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94