On N List of Movie Reviews
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Nashville (1975)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
8/21
8/21:
The best film about Nashville is *drum roll* Nashville.
It takes a while to get used to the odd format. Patience will pay off because the movie is so good that it's a
panorama of everything that occurs in the country-western music world. That being said, I couldn't tell if Robert Altman
was being factly or mocking the culture.
Regardless, it has one of the greatest ensemble casts ever which includes Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Keith
Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, and
Lily Tomlin whose role was meant for Louise Fletcher, since she was born to deaf parents, who decided to go with
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which won her an Oscar.
Some were first-timers in the film business. Having improvised a lot of the dialogue, many composed the songs for
Nashville which is one of the two main reasons why the real stars hated the movie because their stuff wasn't used
instead; the other is that they were made fun of.
Only Keith Carradine won the Oscar for his original song "I'm Easy." I think Ronee Blakley deserved it, too; it's just a terrific
performance as an emotionally fragile country singer, having been cast at the last minute. The Academy certainly missed out
on Allen Garfield and Henry Gibson for their supporting roles. Fantastic is the editing; so much work was done to balance
everything.
Of course, Nashville is about the music which comes in a constant stream while various characters with different motivations
are shown. What a tough job by Robert Altman to juggle them all in order to make the film work. The ending, after the assassination,
is interesting because the people can take away the power of what just occurred and let the positive dominate the scene.
All in all, Robert Altman's singular directorial achievement is Nashville.