Review of Short Cuts (1993) by Gorka P — 18 Mar 2017

One of Robert Altman's most ambitious films, and also perhaps his most influential (Paul Thomas Anderson more-or-less ripped it off for his Magnolia). Leading a large ensemble cast with an inter-weaving series of sub-plots (some more connected than others), Short Cuts was a big risk for Altman especially as he wasn't at his most popular phase when he shot it, but he has a strong basis for the film in its source material.

Based off of the short stories of Raymond Carver, the sublime prose of those stories is readily apparent here (even if most of them are rather loosely adapted), and the material regarding marriage and sex are remarkably still raw by today's standards.

Still, it's an Altman movie through-and-through, and he gives a bit of a Los Angeles-spin on Carver's work, by both capturing the massive landscape of the city, but also allowing more intimate close-up cinematography for the characters.

The sub-plots are all human and fun, as well as quietly devastating at times too, and Short Cuts manages to conclude in a way that satisfies all the individual yarns, while not coming off as hokey. Ensemble dramas have become more frequent and idolized in Hollywood in the two decades since Short Cuts, but almost none of them are as worth the effort as this.