The Company

The Company follows the dancers of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago as they prepare a new work, The Blue Snake, under their director, Alberto Antonelli. Within the troupe, a young dancer, Ry, is in line for a leading role, and the film traces the daily demands of company life: long rehearsals, competition among the dancers, and the need to balance ambition with jobs and relationships outside the studio.

Robert Altman directed, and the screenplay was written by Neve Campbell with Barbara Turner. The film is the twentieth of the twenty-one features Altman directed, arriving between Gosford Park and A Prairie Home Companion. Campbell plays Ry and also produced alongside Altman and Joshua Astrachan. Malcolm McDowell plays Antonelli, with James Franco, Barbara E. Robertson, William Dick and Susie Cusack among the large credited cast and crew.

The production had a budget of 15 million USD and returned about 6 million USD worldwide, a shortfall against its cost. On IMDb, viewers rate it 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 7,200 votes, while on TMDB it holds 5.3 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A film critics' rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 130 reviews places it above both audience scores.