Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Throughout the late Robert Altman's career, the director has gone from genre to genre while making his own stamp into making films with multiple characters and storylines while having overlapping dialogue on top of another. His influence lately has been shown in such films ranging from the works of Paul Thomas Anderson to the recent Crash by Paul Haggis that has a huge influence of Robert Altman. While Robert Altman was never as successful as those he's influenced, he remains one of the most beloved and fiercely independent directors of American cinema.
His hey-day in the early 70s which ranged from films like Brewster McCloud, The Long Goodbye, Thieves Like Us, Images, California Split to classics like the war-comedy M.A.S.H. and the revisionist Western of McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Then in 1975, Robert Altman released what many considers to be his finest masterpiece. A multi-storied film with more than two dozen worth of major characters all coming together for a country music convention where politics and celebrity collide in 1975's Nashville.
Written by Joan Tewkesbury, Nashville is a film about 24 characters on the course of five days filled with people who come together for a convention that leads to a climatic concert. Produced and directed by Altman, the film is really about the public's obsession with celebrity and power with elements of politics and media. The film follows a variety of stories that would lead to the climatic concert that would later prove to be prophetic in the years to come. With an all-star cast that includes Keith Carradine, Lily Tomlin, Shelley Duvall, Michael Murphy, Geraldine Chaplin, Henry Gibson, Ronee Blakley, Gwen Welles, Barbara Baxley, Ned Beatty, Jeff Goldblum, Allen Garfield, Scott Glenn, Elliot Gould, Julie Christie, and many more. Nashville is a superb, sprawling, eerie film from the legendary Robert Altman about the 1970s.
After winning four primaries in the U.S. for the upcoming election, a candidate named Hal Phillip Walker is coming to Nashville, Tennessee to win another primary as a candidate for the U.S. Presidency as a member of the Replacement party. Arriving onto Nashville is a BBC news reporter named Opal (Geraldine Chaplin) who is making a documentary on Nashville. She arrives at a recording session for country legend Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) where she meets his son Bud (Dave Peel). Accidentally interrupting Haven's session, she goes to another recording session that involved gospel singers led by a local housewife named Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin). Linnea's husband Delbert (Ned Beatty) meets up with California businessman John Triplette (Michael Murphy) at a diner to discuss plans for Walker's arrival at the Parthenon. In that same diner, cook Wade Cooley (Robert DoQui) and waitress Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles) watch a mysterious man (Jeff Goldblum) do a magic trick before he departs on his motor-tricycle.
On their way to make more meetings and awaiting the arrival of country singer Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley), a traffic jam occurs when a woman named Winifred Albuquerque (Barbara Harris) leaves her husband Star (Bert Remsen). Opal covers the incident in Linnea's car while she also finds a trailer that belongs to an African-American country singer named Tommy Brown (Timothy Brown). After finally arriving to the airport, Delbert, Triplette, Haven, his mistress Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley), Bud, and other assorted people arrive onto the airport to meet Barbara Jean. A soldier named Pfc. Glenn Kelly (Scott Glenn) awaits Barbara Jean's arrival while a folk-rock trio named Bill (Allan F. Nichols), Mary (Cristina Raines), and Tom Frank (Keith Carradine) arrives. Also arriving is a single-minded woman named Marthe (Shelly Duvall) who calls herself L.A. Joan where she meets her uncle Mr. Green (Keenan Wynn). Barbara Jean arrives with her husband Barnett (Allen Garfield) but collapses during her arrival.
After Jean is taken to the hospital, many await to give interviews or meet her including Opal, L.A. Joan, Kelly, and the Hamiltons. After Mr. Green's return from the hospital to visit his wife, he gets a visit from a musician named Kenny Fraiser (David Hayward) to rent a room for a week. With a concert coming at the Grand Old Opry, Jean’s appearance is cancelled while everyone else decides to play a few gigs for fun while the van of Walker continues to drive around the city. Triplette stays over at the Reese home where Linnea keeps getting strange calls from Tom Frank claiming she doesn't know him. Opal explores the clubs of Nashville while Bill and Mary are accompanied by chauffer Norman (David Arkin) with Tom having a series of affairs with Opal, L.A. Joan, and at one point, Mary. At another club, Sueleen auditions for a man named Trout (Merle Kilgore) where despite her poor-vocal qualities, passes an audition to work at a party for Triplette and Delbert Reese.
On the day of the Opry concert, taking over for Barbara Jean is Connie White (Karen Black) while Haven Hamilton has a gathering in his country home. Actor Elliot Gould arrives to promote a film while Triplette talks with Hamilton about some business involving Walker. At the concert where Tommy Brown, Haven Hamilton perform, it's White who wows the crowd although Barnett and Barbara Jean, both listening to the performance on radio aren't happy about it. Jean despises White as Barnett is trying to deal with his wife's fragile state of mind. At a hotel, Bill and Mary's relationship starts to deteriorate while Triplette asks them to be involved for the concert at the Parthenon for Walker. Jean leaves the hospital the next day as Pfc. Kelly tells Mr. Green a story about Barbara Jean, in which Green receives some horrible news. Opal meanwhile, continues to try and create material for her documentary. Jean performs at a show but her state of mind leads to some strange, incoherent rambling that pulls her out of the show. Triplette asks Barnett if she would be involved at a concert tomorrow at the Parthenon, not telling him anything about Walker.
Later that night, Tom Frank expresses his vulnerability in a song called I'm Easy where his relationship with Linnea is revealed while Sueleen attends the gig she received. What she didn't realize is that the whole gig would be a moment of humiliation in front of Triplette and Delbert. On the day of the big concert where Hal Phillip Walker is set to arrive, all the major players and little people in the past four days come together only to revel in a moment of realization and tragedy.
Given upon the film's attitude towards idol-worship and politics, the timing couldn't have been any better for a film like Nashville. Even in today's view where whatever cynicism that had been growing in the mid-70s has only served as a reminder to today's harsh times. While a lot of credit should go to Altman for his improvisation, chaotic style in collaboration with his actors. Much of the credit should also go to screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury for telling this story of ordinary people including celebrities and political officers coming together in a place as American as Nashville.
A lot of the film reveals the kind of cynicism and disillusionment that came out of the 1960s. The character of Lady Pearl reveals these feelings when reflecting on her love for the Kennedys and her anger towards her own state for letting Richard Nixon win that state because they didn't want to vote for someone who is Catholic. A lot of the film's political overtones from the voice of P.A. guy talking about the candidate Hal Phillip Walker, who is never seen throughout the entire film.
It's not just politics that drives the course of this story, but also celebrity in which, you have some major celebrity figures in characters like Haven Hamilton, Barbara Jean, Connie White, and Tommy Brown. There's a scene in which the African-American Brown, based on the country singer Charley Pride, is called a racial slur, not by a white man but from one of his own. There's also a scene in where Barbara Jean starts to ramble where it shows the folly and downside of celebrity where it becomes a disappointment to somebody in the audience.
Largely because they're forced to see this iconic figure be something they don't want to see, human. Jean is an interesting character who starts to fall apart from the pressures of celebrity as well as the competition against rival Connie White. There's even a couple of walk-on cameo appearances from Altman regulars Elliot Gould and Julie Christie playing themselves intrigued by this event going on in Nashville.
The city itself is a major character since it's the melting pot of not just where country music is but also the place where Hal Phillip Walker hopes to win. There's a moment where John Triplette uses Nashville hoping to get more votes though he has no care for them. Right before the film's climatic concert, there's a scene of Triplette and Barnett arguing about political motives that revels in how a country has become unsure of their own future concerning the government. After this argument comes this tragedy that would foreshadow an event in the years to come. Plus, in this tragedy comes this wave of disillusionment, loss, and confusion. It is there that someone takes this tragic moment and tries to create something to get people together. This is where the genius of Robert Altman occurs.
Altman isn't concerned about politics, lifestyles, or the cult of celebrity but people, real people even if they're celebrities or political lackeys. Altman's observant yet improvisational direction proves that there's a lot of life in any part of a place like Nashville. Even in a scene where Opal goes to a car dump to prepare narration for her documentary as she is trying to figure out what to say. Altman shows the folly of humanity and how events can lead to surrealism. The character of Linnea Reese is a woman who is a loving mother and wife who cares for her deaf children while her husband is more distracted by this political event rather than paying attention to what his son is trying to say. Altman reveals the folly of people trying to follow something as confusing in politics and celebrity. The moments in the film are often filled with overlapping dialogue to convey the atmosphere of what is going on and where these people are. What are they reacting to or what are they thinking. Altman isn't trying to reveal any kind of answers rather than letting the audience themselves involved in what they think is happening. The result is a truly superb, sprawling direction from the late, great Robert Altman.
Cinematographer Paul Lohmann does excellent work in capturing the wonders that is Nashville from the Parthenon, the Grand Old Opry, and the clubs that make this place unique with its colorful, documentary-like camera work. Set decorator Robert M. Anderson also plays to the film’s authentic look of the city with its intimate look for the clubs to the colorful, spacious home of the Reese family. Costume designer Jules Melillo does great work in creating the lavish costumes of the country singers as well as the laid-back clothes of the folk trio Bill, Mary, & Tom to the look of regular people. Editors Dennis M. Hill and Sidney Levin do great work in putting together the stories and characters together with some wonderful editing to move one story to another and see how they all relate to another. Sound editor William A. Sawyer along with Chris McLaughlin and James E. Webb also do amazing work with the sound to convey the sense of tension and atmosphere in the scenes that's happening, notably the way the music is captured.
With many of the actors including Altman contributing music to the film, the soundtrack is wonderfully memorable from the songs Ronee Blakley sings that is pure traditional country to the other songs by Karen Black, Henry Gibson, and Timothy Brown that shows the wonders of country in the 1970s. The musical performances are memorable with Gwen Welles doing a hilariously bad rendition of the songs she sings. Lily Tomlin also does some wonderful music while the real standout is Keith Carradine and his Oscar-winning song I'm Easy. The performance of It Don't Worry Me by Barbara Harris truly memorable while other songs features contributions from Richard Baskin and Gary Busey. It's one of the finest soundtracks ever assembled.
Then, we have the film's large, ensemble cast and it's truly filled with some of the most memorable characters assembled on film. From notable small performances from Gailard Sartain as a diner patron, screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury as the voice of Tom's lover and Kenny's mother, Howard K. Smith as a TV reporter, Merle Kilgore as Trout, composer Richard Baskin as a piano player named Frog, James Dan Calvert and Donna Denton as the Reese's deaf children, and cameos from Altman regulars Elliot Gould and Julie Christie as themselves. Notable small performances from Bert Remsen as Star, Jeff Goldblum as the tricycle man, and David Arkin as Norman are exceptionally memorable for their individual moments. Allan F. Nichols and Cristina Raines are also excellent as the bickering couple of Bill and Mary who are stuck in a tempting love triangle with band mate Tom. Gwen Welles is great as the naive dreamer Sueleen whose belief that she can sing is undermined by the fact that she can't until this moment of humiliation. Robert DoQui is also great as Gwen's friend who reminds her of her lack of talent despite his cynical attitude.
Karen Black is excellent as the b*tchy, vain Connie White who has a nicer personality onstage but offstage, she's a mean, egotistical singer with little respect for Barbara Jean. Timothy Brown is also excellent in his brief role as the Charley Pride-inspired Tommy Brown while Scott Glenn is also good in his small role as a soldier who had a nice story about Barbara Jean. Barbara Harris gives a comical, memorable performance as a struggling singer named Albuquerque who is hoping for her own break where she has an amazing scene in the film's finale. David Hayward is also great as the mysterious Kenny who seems lost in the world he is surrounded by as a musician trying to find a place to fit in. Dave Peel is wonderful as the sweet, intelligent Bud Hamilton who enjoys the role of helping his father's business matters while aspires for something more. Allen Garfield is great as Barbara Jean's frustrated, caring manager who is trying to take care of his wife but couldn't deal with the way she's being used.
Keenan Wynn is wonderful as Mr. Green, L.A. Joan's uncle who is dealing with his wife's illness and his niece's single-minded personality. Shelly Duvall is wonderful as the loopy, icon-obsessed L.A. Joan who is more concerned about public events and icons rather than her own aunt. Barbara Baxley gives a wonderfully touching performance as the sweet yet cynical Lady Pearl whose loss of hope for politics reveal a dark anger to the way she reacts towards her own background. Henry Gibson is great as country legend Haven Hamilton who is trying to organize things while dealing with his own celebrity and his city's reputation. Ned Beatty is excellent as the neglectful Delbert Reese while Altman regular Michael Murphy is also great as the political lackey John Triplette, who makes an insulting comment on Nashville. Ronee Blakley gives a wonderful performance as the fragile yet enchanting Barbara Jean whose presence as a singer is wonderful to watch only to see her fall apart with her rambling.
Geraldine Chaplin is wonderful as the eccentric, loopy Opal who tries to create a story but isn't sure what to do while being selfish for her own gain. Altman regular Keith Carradine is great as the burned out, womanizing Tom Frank who has a great moment with his performance of I'm Easy. In her feature-film debut and first of many films for Altman, Lily Tomlin gives a phenomenal performance as Linnea Reese with her caring, conflicted woman who loves her children but tries to deal with her husband's neglect and her own role as a wife.
Upon its release in the spring of 1975, Nashville was widely hailed as a masterpiece with critics for its view of American politics and idol-worshiping. The film did receive criticism from the country music community while audiences were baffled by the movie. Nashville did receive Oscar nominations for Best Picture, a director nod for Altman plus Best Supporting Actress nods for Ronne Blakley and Lily Tomlin. It did win an award for Best Original Song to Keith Carradine's I'm Easy yet the film marked the end of Altman's winning ways in the early 1970s. In the second half, he continued to explore new territory with other films before being ridiculed by Hollywood and not attaining the same acclaim of his early 70s work. There at this point, Altman would become an independent renegade before his big Hollywood comeback in 1992 with The Player.
With recent huge, ensemble-driven films like Babel and Crash, Nashville is really the blueprint for these of films. Unlike those two recent films, Nashville has more heart and message about American politics and iconoclasts. Yet, Nashville is truly not just one of the greatest pieces in American cinema or a landmark film of the 1970s. It's really one of the greatest films of all-time. Largely due to Robert Altman and his collaboration with his cast along with a wonderful screenplay from Joan Tewkesbury. Nashville isn't just a great introduction to Altman but his style and how he cares for characters and their little stories. In the end, for a film that is widely entertaining with stories about real people and the way they respond to politics and music, Nashville is the film to see.
Robert Altman's brilliant sprawling masterpiece paints a detailed portrait of the people and music industry of Nashville Tennessee. Made in 1975 one y...More at Family Video
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.