Amazon.co.uk Review
If aliens came down to earth to see if humanity was worth saving, showing them
Short Cuts, Robert Altman's bluesy riff on life in LA in the 90s, would not be a good idea. Based on the stories of Raymond Carver (adapted by Altman and Frank Barhydt), this ambitious film is a devilish valentine to living in LA, where happiness comes at a premium. There are at least eight separate stories that crisscross, most about people who choose not to relate to the lives they are living. Seemingly by design, none of the stories (nor the performances for that matter) have more impact than the others--this is a true mosaic film. The most representative plot deals with a group of friends (Buck Henry, Fred Ward, and Huey Lewis) who decide to keep fishing even after discovering a body in the river. The story works as a morose comedy and a flag holder for the movie: the inability to take the correct action. Others would rather talk about seeing Alex Trebek than discuss their faltering relationships. A huge and talented cast twists in the wind, bumping into moments of truth, sex and passion. Some even come out all right in the end. The accidental nature of life--a common theme in many Altman films--has never been so maddeningly persistent nor so absorbing. The score by Mark Isham with songs sung by Annie Ross (also a cast member) fuels the moodiness, as does the opening number in which Medfly helicopters spray the town to the tune "Prisoner of Life." Delivering the film a year after his biggest hit in two decades,
The Player, Altman proved his artistic tenacity as an aged artist with the heart of a new filmmaker: he's not afraid at risking it all.
--Doug Thomas
Synopsis
Using the short stories of Raymond Carver as a springboard, American maverick director Robert Altman weaves a tapestry of interlocking tales set against the seedy backdrop of contemporary middle-class Los Angeles. Tracking the various stages of denial, rage, and despair in the lives of several couples--a philandering cop and his masochistic spouse (Tim Robbins and Madeline Stowe); a helicopter pilot who gets revenge on his ex by trashing her house (Peter Gallagher and Frances McDormand); a man and woman whose perfect life falls apart when they lose their son in a hit-and-run accident (Bruce Davison and Andie MacDowell); a pool cleaner who listens in mounting frustration to his wife performing phone sex each day while tending her brood of children (Chris Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh); a wealthy couple who are haunted by an incident from the past (Matthew Modine and Julianne Moore); an aging jazz singer and her suicidal daughter (Annie Ross and Lori Singer); an alcoholic limo driver and his waitress wife (Tom Waits and Lily Tomlin)--Altman reveals their common threads of familial dysfunction and marital discord in the unforgiving glare of the Southern California sunlight. The result is a sweeping motion picture that also stands as an important sociological artefact of late 20th century Los Angeles life.
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