Short Cuts

Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993) [10]
I like the stories of Raymond Carver, what little of them I've read, and I know that Altman isn't 100% faithful in crafting this film, but what a tremendous film it is. Altman takes Carver's stories, which really could exist anywhere, move them to Los Angeles, and make something while still having elements of Carver's work, the particular attention to specific moments, and create something Altmanesque for lack of a better word. The film is a loose connection of stories where the characters are tied together through their actions. Magnolia, one of my favorite films, is clearly based on this, but here, there is no greater connecting feature. Altman lets the various characters come and go, with no knowledge that these interactions have any significance. A lot of characters have no idea what has occured in the other's story, which emphasize this feeling of isolation or feeling a lack of connection in a sprawling city. This easily could have been a complete confusing mess but Altman has such focus in his direction that all the transistions are seemless. After seeing this, it replaced The Long Goodbye as my favorite Altman film and is easily on of my top 10 favorite films of all time.