The Player directed by Robert Altman strives to express to viewers that money is the root of all evil. Griffin Mill is the leader of an evil band of Hollywood cronies, and the viewer gets to play private investigator. This goal is achieved through the use of a variety of cinematic tools. Altman furthers this idea of the evil nature of money and wealth in his use of camera style, sound, acting style, mise en scene, and motifs. These elements combine to create the artistic impression that the director hopes to convey.
The first cinematic element in the Player that seems to lead to the idea that evil is virtually omnipresent in the movie is the camera style employed by Altman. The camera is attached to a crane and constantly moving in many scenes, such as in the long take that opens the film. This moving camera does two things. The camera seems to tell us not to take our eye off anything, because all of these people can’t be trusted. The camera trails the actors in the same way a private eye would trail a suspect.
The next camera style that is used often in the player is the zoom lens. The zoom is used in the film to tell the audience that something is worth taking a closer look at. This use of the zoom lens in clear in shots that contain “clues” such as the post cards and movie posters that should be studied a little more closely. A great example was present in the scene in which Griffin traveled to the theater to see the Bicycle thieves in an attempt to meet with David Cahain. The camera zooms in tightly on the words, “Let’s begin again.” that appear as a subtitle in the movie. The zoom is vital is helping the audience look for any sort of evidence and watch for sleight of hand trickery as they attempt to track Griffin and the wily group of rich, evil characters.
Altman also uses a style of filming in which the camera seems restless, moving from person to person or to parts of a shot to explore all angles and find another perspective. This camera style helps the viewer who is acting as a gumshoe to carefully explore all possibilities. The nervous, darting camera also acts to mimic the nervous glances of persons who are sinister and afraid of being caught.
The wide-angle lens is used in scenes such as the doorway way at the studio between Griffin and Bonnie Sherow. The fisheye is used so that the viewer doesn’t miss anything as he investigates the evil characters. The distortion that the wide angle lens causes at the edges of the frame help impress upon the audience the snide, bent, and twisted nature of the characters in the movie.
The most interesting camera style used in the film is the shooting through windows, curtains, windows and blinds. The director especially tends to shoot through objects that contain vertical bars to allude to prison bars and the evil nature of those actors in the scene. This is present in shots of Griffin’s office and when Griffin looks in on June Godmunsdottir.
The next cinematic element used in the Player is sound. The dialogue in the movie overlaps from conversation to conversation such as in the opening scene when Griffin and the writer’s conversation is overlapped by Walter’s criticism of modern editing. This is also used in the scene in which Japanese people are being taken on a tour of the lot, as the tourguides voice is overlapped by Bonnie, who is then overlapped by the executives in their meeting. The overlap of dialogue also occurs from one scene to another like in the scene in which Cahain is dead in the puddle, but we hear voices from the next scene. The overlapping of dialogue helps add a fluid, realistic feel to the film.
In many scenes of the player, sounds are edited in for effect. These sound effects include opening and closing doors, snakes hissing, water boiling and flies being swatted.
In classic Hollywood style, Altman uses spooky music to create and heighten suspense in many scenes such as the ones in which Griffin receives a postcard.
Lastly, Altman uses sound in an artistic way to convey feelings or emotions to the audience. The laughing during the questioning scene with griffin in the police station serves to highlight and accentuate the psychological torment that is plaguing the guilty Griffin Mill.
The acting style of the cast in The Player is unique. Sixty-five actors appear as themselves, making the movie an almost “Where’s Waldo” of the Hollywood glitterati. Altman allows these actors a great range of freedom and many of their conversations rely on improvisation. In addition to the litany of blockbuster stars, the director also casts some non-actors in the film. Actors in the film are constantly in motion either walking or gesturing wildly as in the pitch scene for “Habeas Corpus”. This action of the actors helps emphasize the shifty, nervous nature of the evil people in the film. Altman appears to be a fan of having actors use props. From papers, to typewriters, to tampons, the actors always seem to holding something or fidgeting with something.
The Player relies on the mise en scene in the film to further provide meaning to viewers. The props such as the Ice Queen’s paintings, posters for movies and rock bands such as Skid Row, and icy palm trees by the hotel pool are used to invoke a particular feeling in the audience such as bleakness and coldness.
The lighting in the movie is extremely important in setting the mood for scene in the film. The use of icy blues accentuates the hardhearted, stoic nature of characters. The use of red in the restaurant foreshadows future murder. There are lighted pools at the home of the Hollywood mogul during the party scene, at the hotel, and the hot springs and hot tub at the two spas. The lighted water seems to act as a calling for the evil characters to a baptismal cleansing of their sins.
The costumes in the film help to offer insight into the characters’ personalities. Many characters wear red as a scarlet indicator of some wrongdoing or seamy side. June wears pants in one scene that have an inlaid, icy print that catches the light just as ice would. Griffin is constantly wearing striped shirts and suits that are allusions to prison bars for the guilty character.
The setting in the movie tends to involve two main sets with a few auxiliary locations used occasionally. The movie studio and the art studio serve as the main two sets in the movie. Many scenes are also shot on location in outdoor settings.
Altman also borrows from the theater in his use of carefully designed stage positions. The most frequently used stage position is having an actor stand in some sort of framed structure such as a doorway or window. This technique is extremely popular in the live action of the theater.
My favorite technique in the film is the use of motifs. The motifs in the story clearly help the viewers to construct meaning. The motifs also make the movie a fun, gamelike experience as one tries to spot as many as possible and figure out what the meaning behind each example is.
The most obvious motif is the repeated references to ice. The ice is used to impress upon the audience the cold-hearted nature of the Hollywood business. June is dubbed the “ice princess” by David Cahain. Her studio is filled with icy blue and white paintings and curtains. The word “ice” appears in numerous paintings. Griffin always drinks water in the film. The palm trees by the hotel pool have any icy appearance.

Snakes are used in the film as a reference to evil. A snake is delivered to Griffin in a box. We see a snake on the way to the desert. The letter s at the end of the word movies in the studio motto of “Movies, now more than ever” has a snake-like shape. Many of June’s paintings have snake-like images.
The movie posters and concert posters in the film are my favorite motif. These posters obviously and unabashedly foreshadow future events. The ominous messages are fun to pick out, and it is fun to try to match the message with an event in the film that supports it. In my opinion, the Skid Row posters on the wall as Griffin argues with Cahain is the best use of this motif, because it is so undeniably clear that Griffin is truly headed down skid row at that point in the movie.
Another motif used to show the corruptive power of money is the motif that constantly displays the trappings of success of the characters. Luxury automobiles like Porsches, Mercedes, and Land Rovers line the parking lot at the studio. Griffin has a fax machine in his car. People live in outlandishly large home with all sorts of high tech toys. These images show that the money that these people have gained has come at a high price. Cheating, lying, and murder are all part of the characters’ rise to the pinnacle of Hollywood society.
Prison bars are another recurring motif in the Player. Close viewing reveals that Griffin’s gates are similar to prison bars. A bar-like pattern adorns the doors and windows of the Chinese restaurant. Camera shots through windows with blinds create a prison-like image. June’s painting of Griffin depicts his face with bars super imposed. The movie “Habeas Corpus” is supposedly set in a penitentiary.
The combination of cinematic tools combine to create the final message that money leads to evil in the Player. Altman does a wonderful job of using film as a medium to express this notion to viewers. Film conveys messages just as effectively as any other form of art, and The Player is a stellar example and great defense of film as art.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older