The Player

Robert Altman revived his career with this sharp comedy thriller written by Michael Tolkien, a tale of blackmail and intrigue centered on a mildly ruthless Hollywood studio executive (Tim Robbins) harassed by an angry anonymous screenwriter. Altman had long-since perfected his seemingly casual approach to scene-making… it feels like we’re eavesdropping on off-the-cuff improvisations, yet the dialogue is consistently funny and the crime story percolates nicely in the background.

If you’ve never seen Robert Altman’s The Player, it would be hard, offhand, to think of a great movie that’s more fun or one that gives you a headier buzz. But even if you have seen Altman’s virtuoso inside-Hollywood satire-that’s-not-really-a-satire, you should see it again, because it’s one of those Altman films that keeps on giving — and there’s a way that it speaks to aspects of our current moment with surprising force. It’s a comedy of starstruck corruption that’s really about how Americans (or, at least, too many of us) learned to stop worrying and love the dark side.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety (2020)

A smart movie and a funny one… Altman has hit one out of the park.

Roger Ebert

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