Review of Nashville (1975) by Kyle V — 04 Aug 2009

Writing a review of "Nashville", the film by Robert Altman, really isn't an easy task. The complex and multi-layered storylines coupled with nearly 30 individual characters makes it difficult to dissect.

The film has a documentary style to it, with characters often speaking over one another or even speaking off-mic. The plot, as summarized by the dvd case, gives us a glimpse at the lives of country music performers, both those who have made it big and those who are hopefuls, over a 5 day period.

It's not necessarily a loving portrayal of country music, either. There's a sort of sneering skewering of the "stand-by-your-man, take-this-job-and-shove-it" songs that were so mainstream at the time this movie was made, and it seems a little petty nowadays, especially as this music is considered "classic" by todays standards.

In fact, most of the music in this movie is pretty bad, and i'm sure this is a direct result of it being written by the actors themselves (wisely, Lily Tomlin keeps her performance to one song, and she has an entire gospel choir backing her up to cover up her own singing, but I digress).

But anyway, if all this movie did was parody popular Nashville, it probably wouldn't be remembered today (or be as acclaimed). There's more to it than just Henry Gibson's "Mr. Nashville" persona, there's also Albuquerque and Sueleen Gay, two singers hoping to get a big break and willing to do anything for it.

The two women are both sad and comical, and Albuquerque especially, always waiting in the wings, seemingly living in the streets, waiting for the right opportunity (which she finds at the very end of the movie, in one of the most brutal scenes of cynicism since the ending of the movie "All About Eve").

Was Altman a little self-indulgent with the length of the film? There were plenty of scenes that may have went on a little too long, and maybe some that weren't vital to the continuity of the plot, but if the intent was to get inside the heads of some of these characters, you can't fault a filmmaker for trying to give us that opportunity.

This is 70s filmmaking at it's most quintessential: a slow-paced, character-driven plot that's not "A-B-C" laid out before the audience. Watch this film and be challenged.