A strange youth wants nothing more than to take wing in the Astrodome. He is hampered by a host of eccentric, weird characters that are avenged by his "real" guardian angel and her raven. While this film makes virtually no sense at all on a literal level, Brewster McCloud is a fairly inventive, wholly original, gigantic misfire from acclaimed director Robert Altman. Altman even said that of all his pictures this was his favorite. Why? I have to assume it is partly due to his complete control of the film. That, unfortunately, does not necessarily make for a good or even great film, and while I admire much of the inventiveness of this film - I do not crave to see the film over and over again. It made me laugh a few times, but subsequent viewings would lessen that laughter. Altman has a unique body of work to absorb, but he has never been one of my favorite directors. His stories always seem to blend to the point of mild confusion. His characters seem to be so unique as to be unrealistic. Brewster McCloud has all that. I rather enjoyed the narration by Rene Auberjonois as he intimated each character being akin to some species of bird. I also liked the formidable acting talents of Stacy Keach in a bizarre, hilarious role as a rich moneylender, Margaret Hamilton in an all too brief role(though Altman DOES cash in on her Wizard of Oz fame), Michael Murphy as a policeman, John Schuck as a beat cop, William Windom as some creepy political guy, and the beautiful talents of Sally Kellerman and Shelley Duvall. Bud Cort has a strange, almost fascinating screen presence. He also knows a bit about acting. Yet, with all this obvious talent in acting, directing, writing, etc..., Brewster McCloud for me was just too unique, too eccentric, too avant-garde if you like(or don't). It is Altman's movie all the way, and I resolutely commend him for making it his way and doing it his way, and being the only moving force - the will - of the film. Again, none of those things necessarily make this a great film.
Review of Brewster McCloud
