Review of Nashville (1975) by Josh K — 25 Oct 2006

OK, so evidently after my first few posts I threw in the towel for a couple of years, it seems, BUT, I'm back and plan to do this regularly, even if it appears no-one reads my shit...;).

[size=3][font=Times New Roman]Altman was on such a roll in the ?70?s with films like this, M*A*S*H and 3 Women (as well as the more forgotten masterpieces like The Long Goodbye and California Split) that it?s easy to give the guy a break if some of his later stuff wasn?t really up to par. As is, though, this long and winding little epic follows the lives of more than twenty people (as only Altman could) over a hectic few days in Nashville in the lead up to the national election. I?ve never been a fan of country music, but much of the music in the film (written and performed for the most part by the cast themselves) is actually rather beautiful. Everyone does a fine job with their characters, even if some of them seem a little thinly sketched. I guess that?s the problem with squashing so many characters into a 2 ½ hour running time, though. The ending still rings a little too neatly contrived, also, but I?ll put it down to a product of the turbulent times and Altman?s attempt at some sort of stilted political/showbiz comment. Either way, it's superlative filmmaking at its best.[/font][/size].