WriterDave Review of Short Cuts

Short Cuts (1993)

"I Hate LA...all they do here is snort coke and talk."

[10/10 · 19 December 2006]

The many residents of Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" do so much more than that: they lie, cheat, steal, kill, ache, long, burn-out, shine bright, fade in the background, sing, dance, drink, make love, screw, shout, scream, fight, and purge their souls-though few ever really listen or watch closely. "Short Cuts" is arguably Altman's finest film (with nods to "MASH," "Nashville," "The Player," and "Gosford Park"). It's also probably the best of the sub-genre of intertwining vignette films, the overlapping mosaics that Altman trail-blazed. It's odd, because had I seen "Short Cuts" before I viewed P.T. Anderson's "Magnolia" (which I loved upon first view but not so much the second time around), I would've realized that film was an eerie knockoff of this Altman classic--right down to the casting of Julianne Moore and Jack Lemmon. "Magnolia" is full of nervousness, operatic melodrama, and ham-fisted symbolism, whereas "Short Cuts" is full of smooth transitions, hyper-realism, and keen insights into human behavior. I'll take the earthquake at the end of "Short Cuts" over the raining frogs of "Magnolia" any day. Altman's film runs well over three hours and features nearly twenty main characters. As such, it's one of those movies where everyone will have their personal favorite bits and characters. I found Lori Singer's cello playing daughter of a booze-hound jazz singer, Anne Archer's empathy riddled clown, and Frances McDormand's young son who insists on telling everyone about how he feels about his toys (which are showered on him in the absence of real love) though no one ever pays him any direct attention, to be the most compelling. There's also some great bits involving a dog and Tim Robbin's adulterous cop, and a hilariously disturbing mix up at a photo hut involving Lilly Taylor and a fisherman. With Mr. Altman now passed, one wonders, will anyone ever be able to make a film like this again? Surely not. "Short Cuts" is nothing short of a masterpiece and a testament to Altman's unique brand of film-making and humanistic view of the misanthropic world he inhabited.