Short Cuts (1993)

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This film, from director Robert Altman, shows us a few days in the intertwined lives of various Los Angeles residents. Some of the characters already know each other, some will get to know each other and others are merely destined to cross paths. We see snapshots into their various lives. A group of fishermen discover a body but decide not to report it straight away. A waitress hits a young boy in her car; he appears to be fine but is later rushed to hospital. A clown, married to one of the anglers, is invited to dinner at the home of an artist who is married to the doctor treating the boy. An adulterous policeman tries to get rid of the family dog and the ex-husband of the woman she is seeing decides to literally take half of what they own. These are just some of the stories and characters we meet along the way.'Short Cuts' isn't an easy film to describe as there isn't a conventional plot; the characters each have their own little story; some have obvious resolutions, others don't. The opening scenes tell us how the city is being sprayed to deal with a medfly infestation but that has almost no bearing on what we see. This might all sound rather confusing but actually when watching I found it made sense and the way the film skipped from one story to another kept me interested; it certainly didn't feel like I was watching a three hour film. The cast is packed with well-known actors; Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Downey Jnr, Madeleine Stowe, Tim Robbins, Francis McDormand and Chris Penn to name just a few; these and the others are on great form making their characters believable even during the more extreme moments. This certainly isn't for younger viewers or the easily offended; as well as such things as Jennifer Jason Leigh performing phone-sex while feeding her young children and Julianne Moore arguing with Matthew Modine while half naked there is a nihilistic feel at times with the fishermen's story and a murder in the closing scenes. If you believe a good film needs a strong plot then this probably won't be for you but if you want a film that is all about characters and how they interact then this is definitely one to watch.

Helicopters are spraying for Medfly infestation in Los Angeles. Various residents live their lives. There is TV commentator Howard Finnigan (Bruce Davison) lives with his wife Anne (Andie MacDowell). Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife Marian (Julianne Moore) are at a concert. Claire (Anne Archer) and Stuart Kane (Fred Ward) are also at the concert. Limo driver Earl Piggot (Tom Waits) stops at the diner where his wife Doreen (Lily Tomlin) works. Honey Piggot Bush (Lili Taylor) and Bill Bush (Robert Downey, Jr.) are out with their friends. Sherri (Madeleine Stowe) and Gene Shepard (Tim Robbins) are a combative married couple. Lois Kaiser (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a pro phone sex operator in front of her husband Jerry (Chris Penn) and their kids. Stormy Weathers (Peter Gallagher) is one of the helicopter pilots and Betty (Frances McDormand) is his ex-wife.That's not even every main characters. I think I missed a few. It's an impressive cast. I'm just not sure what I'm looking at. The all-star cast actually makes it a bit artificial. It's not a story of these various characters. It's watching these great actors doing their bits. It's fascinating to a certain point but it's not really compelling to me.

"Short Cuts" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Essentially soap-opera material, if you think about it, elevated by superior craftsmanship, ingenious structuring, and an unbeatable cast of established and emerging talent (it is probably the movie that launched the career of Julianne Moore). There is laugh-out-loud comedy and heart-breaking drama, but mostly there is understated observation of nothing less than life itself. In Altman's hands, even a small incident like two sisters bursting out in laughter is a wonderful moment. And don't worry about the three-hour running time, the film flows at a perfect pace and carries you along. ***1/2 out of 4.

Short Cuts for me was a surprisingly entertaining, if engrossing watch, really surpassing my expectations, due to the interplay of stories and characters. The scenario with the little boy, knocked over by trashy ex alcho-waitress, Tomlin, (check out her loser husband) in the hospital, clinging for life, is what had me, but it's the other stories too. Though there's comparisons to this and Magnolia, both films, starring Julianne Moore, the characters and occupations are more offbeat, and therefore much more interesting and exciting. There are so many wonderful actors in this film, I'd be forever writing them down, probably Penn, in still a good performance, was the lesser acting strength, as a birdwatching pool man, who's wife (Jennifer Jsson Leigh) is a blatant sex phone worker. Altman through his story, seems like he's let the actors kind of rabble on with their own scenes, ala Mike Leigh, kind of, some conversations are all so realistic, if documentary. The end, particularly, mirrors Magnolia, with another tremulous event, containing one shocking moment on Penn's behalf. Honestly I just love this movie, for what it gave me. It's the characters and their lives. Robbins, as well as being a low piece of s..t, involved in dognapping, for instance, is a real idiot for having an affair with Mcdormand, while he's got sexy Revenge star, Madeline Stowe. Another shocking aspect to the film, involves some dirty fisherman/camping, who partake in filming a dead nude female's body, found floating in a stream, and not reporting it. It sometimes is the dark side of characters to adds to the great movie's appeal. One funny aspect has Mcdormand's wife, Peter Gallagher, avidly and methodically, turning her ex's loungeroom, into one of ruin, a much loved retribution hitting big here. Here'a a great 90's movie, we breeze easy through it's over three hour running time, one minute than Magnolia, in fact.