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.
'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.