Short Cuts (1993)

5/5

Robert Altman's Short Cuts is a virtuoso masterpiece, pure and simple. The movie follows five or so LA couples and their chance interactions over the course of a few days. At turns horrifying and heart-wrenching, the vignettes are immediately captivating and always engrossing. You watch in breathless anticipation for the entire running time. Clocking in at three hours, it may seem daunting at first, but once you start watching, you cherish every minute of it. From the humorous to the grotesque, from innocence to cruelty, this movie examines the gamut of humanity in all its glory and all its shame. It reminds us what kind souls look like in the presence of mean spirits. And in the end we somehow feel closure without getting any resolution; we know what will happen without having to see it on screen. This is the mark of a true storytelling master.

The acting by the huge cast is complete and all-encompassing; they succeed at fully embracing and transforming into their characters after even the deepest and most detailed scrutiny. Whether it is an old man getting years and years of guilt off his chest or a young couple dealing with the grief of a lost child, they are wholly believable and real. The performances are absolutely impeccable, making the already powerful script that much more potent. Coupled with stellar directing, the thematics feel wide open and inviting. The movie encourages us to really think about our place in life, to genuinely contemplate what we would do if we were given the lots these people are given. We come out of the theater reminding ourselves about how lucky we are. Short Cuts is a truly magnificent film and a truly stunning achievement. I don't think anyone could watch this movie and be unmoved; it is everything we expect of the movies and more.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108122/

3 Women (1977)

3/5

Robert Altman's 3 Women is a curious, intriguing film. It follows the amusing and awkward interactions between the optimistic and oblivious Millie (Duvall), the shy and idolizing Pinky (Spacek), and the silent and artistic Willie (Rule). The plot is apparently based on a dream Altman had, and indeed the mood is very surreal. That is perhaps its strongest aspect, thanks to stellar cinematography and editing, and is reminiscent of the unsettling environment in Kubrick's The Shining. You have no idea where it's going, but you won't be satisfied until you find out. While the film might be called slow, it's never boring. While it might be called dull, it's never uninteresting. This is largely due to the strong performances and rich characterizations.

Near the end, unfortunately, it loses coherence and tightness. It spins wildly out of control and it's difficult to keep track of everything that's going on. It starts quite a few new threads and leaves quite a few loose ends. Worst of all, it fails to answer the questions it raises and leaves everything ambiguous. There's good ambiguous (where you have a few option to choose from), and there's bad ambiguous (where you have no idea what's going on). This was bad ambiguous. Still, for the first 90 minutes, I simply could not take my eyes off the screen. This is a fantastic movie with an end that will frustrate many, but might fascinate a few. If it sounds interesting, I suggest you give it a chance. Otherwise, leave it unwatched.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075612/

Nashville (1975)

4.9/5

Robert Altman's Nashville is a truly astounding picture. The film follows a series of singers at various stages in their career, whose lives intertwine during a few days in Nashville. In all these people resides a common love for music, which makes the film feel like a living, breathing entity whose experiences are those of everyone involved. Thus, we see the aged singer (Gibson), who must give up his fans to the younger generation. We see the Lothario rock star looking for true love (Carradine), the son in his father's shadows who never got to sing (Peel), the backup singer waiting for her chance at fame (Black), and the radiant celebrity with her adoring fans (Blakley). Throughout these few days, a reporter from the BBC tries to interview the celebrities (Chaplin), a politico tries to promote his presidential candidate (Murphy), and a bizarre man with goofy glasses performs magic tricks and gives rides to random women on his motor-tricycle (Goldblum). And there are many more characters I don't have space to describe. While these 20 or so personages are introduced in the first 20 minutes, they make such an impression on you that you remember them for the entire movie.

The editing in this movie is pure magic. There are five or more storylines taking place at any one time, each one with overlapping dialogue and music. And yet there is never a confusing moment in the picture. You always know exactly where you are and exactly which people are involved. And it is hilarious and moving all at once, thanks to stellar writing and acting. However, the weakest aspects of this movie are its lighting and cinematography. Bland, washed-out colors and cheesy extreme zooms heavily date the film. Combined with a 2.5 hour running time (which probably could have been trimmed to 2 hours), the film fails to invite modern audiences in. But give it a chance, because this is a truly magnificent portrait of American culture.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073440/

MASH (1970)

4/5

This has got to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Altman's first major movie has such memorable and unique characters that were pulled off with such perfection (especially by Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould) that by the end it's like losing close friends only two hours after meeting them. Altman's trademark style (of overlapping dialogue) captures the mood, even at the expense of jokes. This helps immensely with the replay value of both the comedy and the movie as a whole.

There were some events that dragged on a bit, but they were few and far between. It definitely felt a little too episodic to be a movie; the style works better as a TV show. Thus the movie wasn't as cohesive and parts didn't flow as well as some of Altman's other movies. These are otherwise small qualms with an altogether engrossing and effective character-driven comedy.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0066026/