Rating of
4/4
Fascinating
likestospin - wrote on 10/07/07
Like his 1975 sprawling epic NASHVILLE, Robert Altman treads familiar water with a massive cast of several interlocking characters and stories. The material was lifted from a series of Raymond Carver short stories, which explains the ever-present feeling of anticipation and staggering coincidence. Most of the characters are desperate, ignorant suburbanites in search of quick happiness; a form of satisfaction without the commitment and work. Their behavior isn't desirable, but they're not completely despicable as human beings. In fact, what makes SHORT CUTS so fascinating is the true humanity in the stories; how they're only trying to find happiness in their lives. The failed attempts at trying to right-a-wrong, the simple misunderstandings that prove fatal for some, yet beneficial for others, the ignorant and impersonal nature of American society... If anyone can capture American life on film, especially from such excellent source matieral, it's got to be Robert Altman.
