Nashville
Dir: Robert Altman
1975
***
Robert Altman is a hit or miss director for me. I liked Nashville but like many others, I felt it was too long, over complicated and a little too deconstructed for my tastes. It's this signature deconstruction of Altman's that I've always had trouble with. Other directors have made 'busy' films but no one quite takes it to the dizzying levels that Altman did. The cast is fantastic as are their performances. The film is 50/50 when it comes to great scenes though and that is one of the main reasons why I say it is overlong. When a film is good I want it to last for as long as possible but Nashville seems long purely because of bad editing. It's quite frustrating at times as you've got a multitude of craftsmanship on show but it is ultimately diluted. I understood the message but many haven't but to ask anyone to re-watch something as long and unfocused as this is asking a little too much from your average viewer in my opinion and overall, as much as I liked it, it is pretty overrated.