Nashville is Robert Altman’s best film. That’s not a controversial claim, but its reputation is accurate. This is one of the greatest American films of the 70’s, and certainly one of the most unique.
The tagline of the movie is “The damndest thing you ever saw” and few promotional lines are more accurate. If the film were made today, I suppose it would be referred to as a hyperlink picture, but it doesn’t even have the required structure. There is either no plot, or about fifteen of them. There is nothing approaching a main character, and in fact, all twenty four of its “lead” actors have equal billing (and, for that matter, two major characters are never seen onscreen at all). Altman shoots the film in a documentary style, and some of the characters are very real, but others and the situations they find themselves in are clearly satirical. There is no other film like it, including others by its director.
The most basic storyline in the films involves an independent political candidate who is preparing for the Tennessee Presidential primary, but said candidate is only heard as a van travels around town, obnoxiously blaring one his speeches. Among the many other intrigues is an undiagnosed illness of country superstar Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley), the struggling marriage between political operative Delbert Reese (Ned Beatty) and his wife, gospel singer Linnea (Lilly Tomlin), framed by observations of Opal (Geraldine Chaplin) a pretentious reporter for the BBC. Unlike the modern films that Altman inspired, such as Babel, not everything fits together, but that’s not a criticism. Not everything in life makes sense or is explained. Too few movies understand that once in a while things are just plain random.
Take the example of the Tricycle Man (Jeff Goldblum) who rides around town on giant, ugly motorcycle never saying a word and rarely interacting with other characters. Or L.A. Joan (Shelley Duvall) a woman who seems to be everywhere in this conservative culture though she dresses like she’s a flamboyant male homosexual. My favorite character is Sueleen Gay (Gwen Wells) a wonderfully endearing but naïve singer who (tragically) has no idea that she’s talentless and that audiences only appreciate her for her sex appeal.
The movie is kind of its own genre. There is nothing else the film can be, for it is unlike any other film. One entire of the movie (a third of its running time) is devoted to concert footage performed live by the actors, most of whom wrote their own songs (Keith Carradine won an Oscar for the best, “I’m Easy”.) Few of the stories payoff, and the few that don’t have much of a setup.
But that’s what makes film so endlessly fascinating. It exists in an out of documentary, drama and comedy. The characters are clearly constructs, but you end up caring about them. I was tempted to say that climax says something about America, but I’m not sure even says anything about Nashville. But its kind of like life.