Robert Altman and an Inspired Cast Find Cinematic Harmony in Nashville

 

                 Standing tall among the great films of the 1970s, a most influential decade for a new breed of American filmmakers, each contributing their own unique style and vision with monumental works such as The Godfather, Jaws, Taxi Driver and Star Wars, Robert Altman’s daring, revolutionary Nashville from 1975 serves as possibly the legendary director’s most entertaining, creative and moving work. Centered around a cavalcade of characters intermingling in the title city around the time of the Bicentennial, Altman captures one of the greatest examples of a specific environment ever committed to film. Fearlessly helming elaborate set pieces on-location in and around Nashville, including an opening scene detailing a traffic pile-up on a highway that artfully introduces many of the rich roster of talented players in an ensemble cast seldom equaled before or since on the screen, Altman beautifully adapts the dynamic, funny and perceptive original screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury in seemingly improvisational style, allowing each of the plethora of actors to shine in distinct, spontaneous fashion, with those playing the fictional Country & Western stars at the heart of the story also adding individuality to their roles via involvement in writing their musical numbers. Satirically addressing themes such as Americana, politics, fame and relationships circa 1975, Nashville proves a fully satisfying, surprising and profound experience sure to linger with a viewer long after witnessing the unforgettable climax of the film.

                Starting his career on television in the 1950’s, Altman would direct a couple features in the 1960s (1967’s Countdown starring a pre-Godfather James Caan and Robert Duvall and, from 1969, That Cold Day in the Park with Sandy Dennis) before witnessing a major breakthrough with the surprising smash critical and box-office success of the untamed comedy M*A*S*H in 1970. Nashville caught Altman at a peak period of creativity, after further honing his craft, specifically in how he experimented working with actors to build storylines and portrayals into a cohesive whole, in M*A*S*H and his other early 1970’s endeavors of various quality and moods, including Brewster McCloud, featuring Altman’s most singular discovery Shelley Duvall in her film debut, the evocative McCabe and Mrs. Miller, a terrific modernized 1974 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, with Altman regular Elliot Gould giving perhaps his most free spirited and ingenious performance, and the stark crime drama Thieves Like Us, starring Duvall and Keith Carradine. With Nashville, Altman attempted his most ambitious project yet, and it’s awesome to watch how dexterously he manages to keep the interweaving storylines and personalities therein consistently fascinating and relatable, with a marvelous sense of wit and humanity showcased throughout each segment. Altman was giving moviegoers a new, more free-flowing narrative structure with Nashville, lending a sense of documentary-style reality to the proceedings, while letting his impeccable cast offer unorthodox-yet-truthful spins on an array of extraordinary roles, resulting in a grandiose, splendidly-crafted scenario that pulls audiences in for the 160-minute run time, and leaves them in a state of both elation and incertitude by the close of Altman’s epic portrait. Altman would continue his eclectic career post-Nashville following his own funky and singular vision, in the process enriching his cinematic oeuvre with further diverting offerings as 3 Women, The Player, Short Cuts and Gosford Park.

                Carefully selecting each actor for the approximately two dozen major Nashville characters resulted in a cornucopia of triumphant performances rarely witnessed in a single film. Ronee Blakley makes a vivid impression as the frail but prodigiously talented C&W superstar, Barbara Jean. Her soulful singing and heartfelt emoting of Barbara Jean’s tumultuous mindset draw a viewer to her plight and indicated a great career in films for the newcomer, which unfortunately never transpired, leaving Blakley’s adept, poignant Nashville work to endure as evidence of her remarkable musical and thespian gifts. Also making a maximum impact in her first major film after breaking through on television’s Laugh-In, Lily Tomlin demonstrates the skill and care evident in all her work, and proves herself a screen actor of dramatic force and merit. Portraying Linnea Reese (in a role based on input from Louise Fletcher, who left the film) a gospel singer and mother of two deaf children who finds her stable life complicated by advances from a sexy folk singer, Tom Frank (Keith Carradine, who is effortlessly magnetic), Tomlin lets an audience in on Linnea’s every conflicting thought, leading to the famous moment wherein she becomes aware of Tom’s intentions as he serenades her with “I’m Easy,” while half the other women in the crowd believe Tom is singing only to them. After this insightful portrait, Tomlin would go on to conquer Broadway with her one-woman show, while continuing to thrive on television and films, with The Late Show, a huge smash opposite Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton in 9 to 5, All of Me with Steve Martin, an Altman reunion with another amazing cast in Short Cuts and, more recently, great work in Grandma and a wonderful re-teaming with Fonda for the hit t.v. show Grace and Frankie among her accomplishments, along with a prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, to go with the Grammy, Emmys and Tony awards she’s amassed over a distinguished career.

        Karen Black, having a nice mid-1970’s run after her Oscar-nominated breakout in Five Easy Pieces, with iconic work in Trilogy of Terror on t.v. and roles in high-profile offerings such as The Great Gatsby, Airport 1975 and the bleak but fascinating The Day of the Locust, brings comic gusto to her playing of Connie White, a slick, commercial C&W leading light whose serves as an interesting counterpoint to the more pronounced talent of Barbara Jean. Black does a nice job with her key song and gets one of the biggest laughs commenting on Julie Christie’s wayward hairdo, as Christie glides by in an appealing cameo appearance with Gould, perhaps on her way to shooting her big 1975 L.A.-based opus, Shampoo. Henry Gibson shines in the primary male role of Haven Hamilton, a veteran Grand Ole Opry star loyal to his musical C&W roots in the face of changing tastes, while Geraldine Chaplin shows great comic flair as Opal, an intrepid-yet-vapid English journalist, wandering around and out of her element but, recorder in hand, intent on haplessly uncovering some of life’s deeper meanings in the Nashville environs.

The bountifully gifted Barbara Harris does a spectacular job as Winfried (or is it Albuquerque?), an eccentric housewife on the run from her husband as she attempts to break into the Nashville music scene, with an incredible payoff that Harris nails in unforgettable fashion. Duvall makes her highly individual visual presence felt as Martha, a gangly free-spirited groupie, while Gwen Welles is both funny and wistful as Sueleen, a tone-deaf but beautiful waitress desiring a music career, but forced to face reality regarding her chances in the industry after discovering she’s been hired for a gig based more obvious assets. Other familiar names blending in extremely well with the general comedy-drama ambience of the story include Allen Garfield as Barbara Jean’s tough, loyal husband, Barnett; Barbara Baxley, who has one of the best moments when her character nostalgically reflects on JFK; Ned Beatty as Linnea’s lawyer husband interested in promoting and using Sueleen; Keenan Wynn as Martha’s concerned uncle; Christina Raines as Tom’s beautiful colleague and lover; Timothy Brown as the chief African American star at the Opry, who still finds himself dealing with discrimination;  Scott Glenn as a Vietnam War veteran with a connection to Barbara Jean, and Jeff Goldblum in an early role as a lanky motorcycling riding local.

                Nashville gained solid box-office and overwhelming critical favor upon its release, starting with an early rave from difficult-to-please but powerful reviewer Pauline Kael and a Newsweek cover story. Kael’s contemporaries followed suit in heaping praise on Altman’s masterpiece, and the film would go on to reap a wealth of prizes during a very competitive awards season. Among its chief plaudits were Best Picture prizes from the New York Film Critics' Awards (wherein Altman and Tomlin also won for Director and Supporting Actress), the National Board of Review (in a tie with Barry Lyndon; Altman would tie Lyndon’s Stanley Kubrick for Best Director, with Blakley cited for Best Supporting Actress) and the National Society of Film Critics (with Altman winning Best Director and Henry Gibson and Tomlin cited for Supporting wins). Joan Tewkesbury would gain one of the most richly deserved screenplay awards ever from the Los Angeles Film Critics, The New York Times and Time magazine would include Nashville among their top ten films, with the Golden Globes granting the film eleven nominations, including a win for Keith Carradine’s self-composed hit, “I’m Easy.”

               Come Oscar time, Nashville would score nominations for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actress nominations for Blakley and Tomlin, and a sole win for Carradine’s “I’m Easy” fortunately allowing Nashville to become the Oscar-winning film it should be. The movie would indicate its staying power with placement at #59 on the American Film Institute’s 2007 list of the 100 greatest films, and with inclusion on the National Film Registry’s 1992 list of films for preservation. For a savory, gratifying cinematic feast sure to leave audiences in awed admiration, movie lovers will find ample rewards in moseying up to the astonishing sights and tuneful sounds of Nashville, perhaps the most enduring effort from a filmmaker of unsurpassable talent and finesse, Robert Altman.