**** (out of ****)
Choices. The choices we make in life will come to define us even though we will wriggle and squirm to justify the bad ones. Whether we like it or not our actions have consequences and seemingly inconsequential moments can create lasting impacts on our lives and the lives of others.
That is what I think Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" (1993) is about. A masterful examination of humanity and morality in America.
This year on the blog, which I have themed "Was I Right?", I'm going to take a second look at movies I had previously celebrated and placed on my various year end "top ten" lists to determine, was I right? Did the movies hold up and were they worthy of my praise. "Short Cuts" is a movie I admire more after viewing it again. It is a stronger film than I remembered and well deserving of my praise and its placement on my top ten list of the best films of 1993.
Altman was a filmmaker that had always tried to capture the country's zeitgeist, as evident in such masterworks as "Nashville" (1975) - which "Short Cuts" is most often compared to - "M*A*S*H" (1970), "Buffalo Bill and the Indians" (1976), and "The Player" (1992). And as in "The Player", I find "Short Cuts" to be a dark cynical view of contemporary society. Altman may have claimed his film made no judgements against these characters but none of them are people I would want to necessarily spend time with. These are flawed humans with few redeeming qualities because they refuse to come to terms with who they are and take responsibility for their decision making. The film's title, I would suggest, bears this out. People looking to cut corners, looking for the easy way out. Looking for "short cuts".
With a total of twenty-two stars, "Short Cuts" was an interconnecting story, looking at the lives of seemingly random individuals living in LA. Nearly all of whom will be placed in a moral conundrum. Each circumstance was the result of a mere coincidence.
One of my favorite stories involves three buddies (Fred Ward, Buck Henry, and Huey Lewis) going on a long planned fishing trip. When they arrive at the site, Vern (Lewis) discovers the dead body of a young woman in the water. What should the men do? Remember this was the 1990s. Americans didn't have smart phones attached to their fingers. Should they cancel the weekend's fishing trip and drive back in to town to alert the police? They've really been looking forward to the trip however. And the girl is already dead. Should they get in a couple of days of fishing and then tell the police? What's the moral thing to do?
Another fascinating story concerns a wealthy couple (Andie MacDowell and Bruce Davison) who discover their son Casey (Zane Cassidy) was hit by a car. The driver of the car, a waitress (Lilly Tomlin) offered to take the boy to the hospital and to drive him back home but the boy's parents taught him never to talk to strangers. After a long walk home, the boy suddenly becomes comatose and is rushed to a hospital. Earlier that day, the mother, Ann (MacDowell) ordered a birthday cake for her son to be picked up the next day. With their child in the hospital the baker (Lyle Lovett) is upset no one has come to pick up the cake he prepared as he leaves a barrage of messages on their answering machine (kids look up what that was). The message being, we often act in insensitive ways when we don't know the whole story.
Next we have an adulterer husband (Tim Robbins) cheating on his wife (Madeleine Stowe) with a woman (Frances McDormand) who has a son (Jarrett Lennon) and a jealous ex-husband (Peter Gallagher). Gene (Robbins) is a cop who uses his job as a way to provide excuses for his whereabouts when he is not home with his wife and children. Sherri (Stowe) doesn't believe his stories and knows he is cheating on her and rationalizes she must wait it out as eventually the other woman will break up with Gene.
Two more interesting but underdeveloped couples are Jerry (Chris Penn) and his wife Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) a phone sex operator who takes on her motherly and professional duties all at the same time. They are friends with Honey (Lili Taylor) and Bill (Robert Downey Jr.). They have been asked by their neighbors to occasionally stop by and feed their fish while they are away on a month long vacation. Bill has no particular interest in helping out his neighbors and rather chase after pretty young women.
Finally there is Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his artistic wife Marian (Julianne Moore). They meet another couple at a music recital; Claire (Anne Archer) and Stuart (Ward) and impulsively invite them to dinner. The good doctor is aloof. Does he not like the couple or is there something simmering between he and his wife? Being an artist she is presented as outgoing but is she masking and avoiding their issues?
Bringing this all together is the fact the doctor is the one taking care of Casey at the hospital and Marian is Sherri's sister.
These characters and their situations were inspired by the writings of author Raymond Carver. Some have taken umbrage to this claiming Altman was not faithful to Carver's work. In the book Altman on Altman - a film by film conversation with the director - Altman addresses this criticism by explaining "Everything that was in there was his stories or pieces or lines from the stories, which is why it says in the credits 'Based on the writings of Raymond Carver', not any particular story." I like the way the late and brilliant movie critic Michael Wilmington defended Altman's interpretation of Carver's writing by comparing it to music, writing "It's as if, listening to Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, or Art Tatum riff through versions of "I Got Rhythm," critics started complaining that Gershwin's melody was being lost."
And the musical comparison is an apt one. As was the case with "Nashville", Altman uses music as a way to weave these characters and their struggles together, creating a kind of musical interplay. In "Nashville" the emphasis was naturally on country music while in "Short Cuts" everything pulsates to the sounds of jazz. Altman and co-writer Frank Barhydt have created a character named Tess (Annie Ross, the famed jazz crooner from the trio Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross), an alcoholic jazz singer and mother, who emotionally intertwines the pain, disillusionment, and bitterness washing over these characters through the songs she sings.
Altman and "Short Cuts" made a strong link between sexual frustration and dissatisfaction and its ability to manifest itself onto a society and fill it with violence, denial, and isolation. It is like a fog hovering over humanity. Much like medfly "war" the city is engaged in as helicopters fly above in the nightly skies spraying chemicals which may or may not be protecting the citizens.
One of the most powerfully charged scenes in the film had the doctor confronting his wife about a possible infidelity. While Marian is being confronted she spills wine on her clothes. Taking off her skirt to remove the wine stain she stands there fully naked from the waist down as she must ultimately confess to her indiscretion. The scene caused a stir in 1993 but it perfectly illustrates the vulnerability and intimacy within a marriage. In the Altman book, the filmmaker states "I think it is really the best thing in the movie."
Jack Lemmon is involved in another powerful scene as an estranged father to Howard (Davison) and explains why he and his wife separated, after he was caught with his sister-in-law. Once again here is a scene showing vulnerability but Paul (Lemmon) isn't so much interested in reconnecting with his son instead preferring to defend his reputation.
There are a handful of other scenes that struck me because of their raw emotion. The moment Howard and Ann confront the baker is filled with tenderness and sensitivity. A scene when Stuart reveals to Claire what happened during their fishing trip is interesting as we watch the gradual disappointment and judgement in Claire grow towards Stuart, with him desperate to explain his actions. And a scene between a daughter (Lori Singer) hopelessly trying to connect with her mother (Ross).
It all culminates with an "act of God" conclusion, as if nature is literally trying to shake humanity up. It further reminded me of just how much Paul Thomas Anderson stole from this movie when making "Magnolia" (1999). However "Shorts Cuts" feels much more satisfyingly with its ending. We will all experience devastation but it will pass and we must strive to move on. To quote the famed composer Irving Berlin, "the song is ended but the melody lingers on".
Like for so many other great American filmmakers from the 1970s, the corporate takeover of Hollywood in the 1980s saw a decline in Altman's creative and artistic influence. The 1990s however were a time of rejuvenation and vitality. Just as the 1970s saw Altman at, presumably, the height of his powers, the 1990s was an equally strong creative period which "Short Cuts" helped solidify and restore Altman's reputation as one of this country's finest filmmakers. The one-two punch of "The Player" and "Short Cuts" exhibited a filmmaker at the top of his craft. Throughout the 90s and up until his death Altman seemed unstoppable. Practically every film he released I thought was spectacular - "Kansas City" (1996), "The Gingerbread Man" (1998), "Cookie's Fortune" (1999), "The Company" (2003), and his final film, "A Prairie Home Companion" (2006).
Luckily for Altman some movie critics were able to recognize his as well as "Short Cuts" genius. Movie year 1993 was essentially defined by Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" (1993), which is a masterpiece. But even within the presence of such a film by Spielberg, critics were able to praise Altman's film just as enthusiastically. Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Wilmington declared it the best movie of the year. Meanwhile his colleague, Gene Siskel, placed it in the number two spot on his year end list, only behind Spielberg's film. The great Andrew Sarris mentioned it among the year's best English language films in the New York Observer. And in Vincent Canby's New York Times review he wrote "When future social historians want to know what the temper of life was like in one corner of American in 1993, "Short Cuts" will be the mother lode of information." In addition Altman scored his forth (of five) Oscar nomination for best director. It was back-to-back nominations for him as he was also nominated for "The Player". Sadly, it was "Short Cuts" only nomination but a worthy one and a sign Hollywood was eager to once again embrace the maverick director.
Despite such accolades given to "Short Cuts" these pass thirty-plus years demonstrate outside of some cinephile circles the movie hasn't had much of a cultural impact and influence - with the exception of "Magnolia" - the way other Altman films like "M*A*S*H" and even (sigh) "Popeye" (1980) did. Did anyone care last year was its 30th anniversary? Financially the film did poorly at the U.S. box-office, not even able to bring in a profit or break even against its twelve million dollar budget.
But box-office isn't an indicator of great art and "Short Cuts" is great art. I am happy this year of "Was I Right?" inspired me to take a second look at this film and reacquaint myself with it.
"Short Cuts" was a richly conceived, thoughtful examination of humanity, human behavior, and morality in America. It ranks among the best films of 1993, the best of the decade, and Altman's all-time greats.
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