Directed by:
Robert AltmanCinematography:
Walt LloydComposer:
Mark IshamCast:
Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Jack Lemmon, Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Lili Taylor (more)Plots(1)
Using the short stories of Raymond Carver as a jumping-off point, American maverick director Robert Altman weaves a tapestry of interlocking tales set against the seedy backdrop of contemporary middle-class Los Angeles. Tracking the various stages of denial, rage, and despair in the lives of several couples--a philandering cop and his masochistic spouse (Tim Robbins and Madeline Stowe); a helicopter pilot who gets revenge on his ex by trashing her house (Peter Gallagher and Frances McDormand); a man and woman whose perfect life falls apart when they lose their son in a hit-and-run accident (Bruce Davison and Andie MacDowell); a pool cleaner who listens in mounting frustration to his wife performing phone sex each day while tending her brood of children (Chris Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh); a wealthy couple who are haunted by an incident from the past (Matthew Modine and Julianne Moore); an aging jazz singer and her suicidal daughter (Annie Ross and Lori Singer); an alcoholic limo driver and his waitress wife (Tom Waits and Lily Tomlin)--Altman reveals their common threads of family dysfunction and marital discord in the unforgiving glare of the Southern California sunlight. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (1)
I like the movie because of its form and the fact that even though it is three hours long, it truly does not bore you, because something is constantly happening. It is happening to so many people, but they are also interconnected, so you always stay alert so as not to miss any connections. This is where the film is good. However, some of the stories failed to move me.
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