McCabe & Mrs. Miller

source: McCabe & Mrs. Miller

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

While Robert Altman can be hit and miss, McCabe and Mrs Miller is one of his hits. But it is more than just a hit, it is a masterpiece. I can understand why people mayn't quite adjust to the sombre tone and the slow pacing, but I don't consider either of these flaws in any way. McCabe and Mrs Miller, although it does have a fine story, great direction, a very good script and well realised characters, it is more a mood piece than anything else, and the mood is really quite haunting. And I think the pacing is deliberate and suits the tone of the film wonderfully. The film looks stunning, with great cinematography and production values and the Leonard Cohen soundtrack compliments the film perfectly. In terms of effective scenes, for me the famous bridge scene and the climax resonate with me most, and Warren Beatty and Julie Christie are superb. Overall, a fine film and one of Altman's best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

McCABE & MRS. MILLER deals with several of the harsher realities of life in The Old West, and does so unflinchingly, without undue sentimentality (despite the haunting music of Leonard Cohen). Down and dirty filmmaking. Had there been documentary filmmakers roaming The Old West, they might well have shot something not unlike what Altman has wrought here. Unconventional in the extreme, McCABE & MRS. MILLER is the kind of down-to-earth western we need more of. The glamour of hard times washes right off and all that's left is a brutal, harsh reality. Superior filmmaking.