The young woman, named Willa, who works in the police station alongside Detective Susan Avery and Detective Lyle Lovett, is featured near the end of the movie (1:30:30). This is the only time throughout the film the woman is shown on camera. She appears during an awkward and tense scene, while Griffin Mill is meeting with Detective Avery to discuss the murder of David Kahane. She rushes from her desk over to a chair to grab a bag and removes it before Mr. Mill sits down. Willa is later asked to grab a binder of pictures and hand it to Griffin. Seconds later, while opening the binder, he bumps an organizer off the desk, resulting in Griffin jumping in a startled manner. He offers to pick up the items on the floor, but Willa rushes over to clean up the mess. This shows the audience that during a quite heated conversation (or what is soon to be), she brings a rather comical break in an apprehensive scene. Christian Keathley mentions in his article “Small Parts, Small Players” dossier of Screen, that “such business employs objects for dramatic and expressive purposes,” (Keathley 2011). In this case, Griffin is uptight and shows signs of nervousness, ending in him showing his “object for dramatic” and knocking something off the desk. Then enters the minor character who relieves the tension and gives the scene a moment of silence. Keathley also states that “the most striking or memorable bits often come from supporting characters – especially those who appear only once or twice in a film but are nevertheless important to the plot,” (Keathley, 2011). Willa offers the characterization of an “awkward prop” in the scene she is presented in. Detective Avery makes a comment in the scene that Willa’s job is to pick up people’s messes or be the supportive background character. In this particular case, the background worker does not get much credit.  The film The Player gives audiences an insight into stressful Hollywood life, and Willa offers a break in the madness of a fraught conversation between Griffin Mill and Detective Avery.

Works Cited

The Player (1992)

Keathley, Christian. “Pass the salt … and other bits of business.” Screen, vol. 52, no. 1, 2011, pp. 105-113, https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/hjq065

Who is Profiling the Character?: Rylee Alpino
Source of Image: The Player (1992)
Image Alt Text: Woman Working in Police Station, The Player
License for your profile: All Rights Reserved (copyrighted)
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