A Hollywood movie made on Hollywood and its inner film-world only, is really a treat to watch, especially for friends who are well familiar with the western working style, production studios, veteran artists and the whole enigma around their big films or stars. And if you love watching films in this particular genre like SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950), A STAR IS BORN (1954) and more, then THE PLAYER is sure going to be a thoroughly entertaining watch for you undoubtedly, with many inside Hollywood references, jokes and cameos incorporated in a well thought of, brilliant style rarely tried before.
Based on a fictional but highly compelling plot which is quite possible in the real life too, THE PLAYER revolves around a studio script screener Griffin, who listens to hundreds of scripts every year, rejects most of them and selects only a few to consider further. So as per his assigned job he has to refuse many, say a lot of lies and act hard at times too in order to keep all the aspiring writers at a distance. The job does have its own charm and excitement but it doesn’t remain the same when one of those hundreds of unknown writers starts sending Griffin threatening messages regarding his submitted script. Now Griffin tries to identify that one writer and wishes to explain him the situation calmly, but the meeting gets him into a complex trap and from hereon we get to see a well written, entertaining thriller, showcasing the different tantrums of the film people involved and the industry politics too.
Superbly directed by Robert Altman the project is considered to be one of the best movies made on Hollywood Film Industry and was also nominated in the categories of Best Director, Best Writing-Screenplay & Best Editing in the Academy Awards of 1993. Its script has a unique balance of thrill, suspense, comedy and a fine satire too which keeps the viewers engrossed right from its first sequence itself. Particularly for the friends, who love to know more about the back stage events, THE PLAYER features a lot of amusingly fresh moments to keep you hooked, like how the scripts are heard, how the present actors talk about the veterans, the way new ideas are presented mixing two previous hits and how all the celebrities meet in restaurants over a lunch or dinner talking about their various projects.
As the lead actor, Tim Robbins plays it perfectly well and so do all the guest stars in their short appearances at regular intervals. The interesting subject is inviting enough for every die hard cinema lover living in any part of the world and the film has got a lot to offer in terms of content, writing and some exclusive revelations about the back stage tactics used. Though reportedly THE PLAYER was not received well at the time of its release but at present it is widely rated as a very smart, cunning as well as a funny take on the famous Hollywood film-makers and their own film-making style. So if you are really interested in the way films are conceived there, then you got to see this at the earliest and enjoy your time with the makers, inside the big studios.
Directed by Robert Altman
Written By Michael Tolkin
Starring : Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward.
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The Player (1992), Movies To See Before You Die Thriller, Must See Movies List By Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, Worth Watching Movies List by Bobby Sing, Not To Be Missed Movies List by Bobby Sing, World Classics List, Films on Hollywood, Hollywood Films on Film making.
