Robert Altman’s ‘Short Cuts’, is a tale of tragedy, love, relationships and lost souls set to the backdrop of sunny life in L.A. in the '90s. Altman takes us into this world that looks real but somehow feels artificial, fake smiles and paranoia. The film basically resolves around eight different stories that intercross and entwine around 20 strong characters. The huge and talented cast is brilliant as each fight to leave their mark on the film. Everyone from Tim Robbins philandering motorcycle Cop, to Andie McDowell’s grieving Mother – every performance is solid.
One of my favourite stories of the film is the fishing trip Buck Henry, Fred Ward and Huey Lewis go on. Whilst fishing in the mountains they stumble across the body of a dead girl and question there life and what to do with the body. It goes along at a pace and plays like a black comedy.
You can only love or hate Altmans films as his critics say all his big cast group efforts limit creativity and make it feel like a soap opera as none of the characters grow. But I think this film does create feelings and with a massive cast keeps you interested in how each story is going to end. The main message to the film is to question your own judgement and actions as many of these characters have the amazing ability to take the incorrect path or take the wrong actions.
I like Chris Penn’s character, the downtrodden anti-hero. You know he is so fed up of life and being walked over that something explosive is going to happen. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a good performance as his slutty girlfriend who doesn’t seem to realize how much he is hurting.
All in all I recommend this film highly – 3 hours go by like nothing and although you probably wont come away smiling, it will have you thinking about a lot of things in life. (Hmmm that sounded cheesy, oh well.) |
