Review of McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) by Charles H — 22 Feb 2007

Ugh. I guess I COULD see why Altman fans would love this - the cadence of all the people talking over each other makes for a very realistic, personal feel, but I found this movie unbearably hard to follow if solely for the fact that everyone was freakin' mumbling!

It drags on and on without rhyme and reason and I was bored out of my mind half the time with nary a thing standing out which would even qualify a second glance, save perhaps for Julie Christie's brash and brazen madam - the only remotely interesting person in the entire cast, and even her character sometimes descends into fits of weirdness and can't save the rest of the movie.

It has a few charming moments for sure: the tender yet awkward relationship which develops between the hardened Mrs. Miller and full-of-bravado McCabe is quite interesting to watch if only because it is so unlike the perfect modern romances of Hollywood; and the whorehouse scenes expounding on the growing camaraderie between the girls, Mrs. Miller and their clients are quite good as well.

I was really distracted by the awful quality of the film although I guess that was the look Altman was going for. The soundtrack is good but repetitive and therefore grating. Only worth watching for its interesting subversion of the genre and Julie Christie's spirited performance.