This is one of my favourite films of the 1990's. I never did plunk down the 50-some-odd dollars for the Criterion disc last year, but I'm happy with the 15 dollar one that Alliance put out. Then as now, this is a smorgasbord of a movie, following 22 characters, whose little dramas interweave in Los Angeles. At 68, Robert Altman is at the peak of his powers, showing an energy, experimentation and scope that some directors half his age can only dream about. It helps too that most of the performances are absolutely superb, and justly so, since most of the characters are so pathetic, helpless or just plain ugly... we are glued to the screen follwing their Chinese puzzle lives in this three-hour epic. Now the DVD is part of my SHORT CUTS collection, right next to the published screenplay, the soundtrack album and the collection of stories originally penned by Raymond Carver. It is funny, horrifying, and heartbreaking all at once... well, much like life.
No comments:
Post a Comment