SHORT CUTS
A film review by Chris Roberts
Copyright 1995 Chris Roberts
Directed by Robert Altman.
Starring Andie MacDowell, Jack Lemmon, Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, Annie Ross.
I have previously admired the satirical content of Robert Altmans work in THE PLAYER and POPEYE. However these leave one unprepared for SHORT CUTS which must rate as one of the more scathing critiques of suburban life!
It implies that the most educated generation in the world inhabit an environment where no one feels a need to recourse to a newspaper and conversation has been reduced to monosyllables.
A portrait of women who potter through life completely engrossed by the next party, but occasionally managing to retain their common sense. This contrasts with all but one of the male characters, who seem to stumble blindly on with no standards whatever! Is this Raymond Carver's vision of hell? Was it Altman who added the earthquake to shake some sense into them?
It is a very curious thing to see a director use such a realistic setting to convey a feeling of supreme decadence. As humorous as a bird watching a snake. Like a painting by De Kooning, this work exists not in the marks on the canvas, but in the emotional response experienced by the viewer. (Beyond natural empathy, eh?)
We are all neighbours. In fact thats the name of one of one of the myriad of "soaps" shown for families on U.K. television, which draw their content from prurient tabloid headlines.
Altman's film, which makes those observing children integral to the plot, can be appreciated for its ingenuity and wit. The Australian and British soaps which employ such similar themes cannot. Judging by their ratings Im in the minority, having banned them from my household on grounds of taste. This director has I think put his finger on the problem. Whilst we must all endeavour to mind our own business, indifference is a value we pass on to children children at our peril.
Sue Roberts. chrisrob@cix.compulink.co.uk
NB. This film is awful. The people involved have gone to immense time and trouble to make it precisely so. Its brilliance lies in the subtlety of its indictment.
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