Day 14 - The Film That No One Expected You To Like
A Prairie Home Companion (2006, Altman)
In 2006 I had never seen an Atlman film before. I’d never listened to the radio show this movie is based on. I didn’t really know who most of these actors were (this was towards the beginning of my movie education). On top of all of that it’s a movie about a faux-old-timey radio show getting shut down. There was nothing in this movie for me to like. But I loved it. There’s a kind of ease that permeates the film. Yes, these people are losing their jobs (and the end makes it seem more like they’re dying, which is practically the same thing) but they’re so comfortable with each other that they know everything is going to be fine. In later years I saw more Altman and more movies with these performers and I learned to appreciate that everything has the potential to be good. Even a quasi-musical staring Lindsay Lohan and Garrison Keillor.
Notes:
- The performances in this movie are all great. They do the typical Altman overlapping dialogue which is fun but the more low-key aspect distinguishes it from some of his other stuff (Short Cuts, for example, is way more manic, I think).
- It’s kind of fitting that this is Altman’s last movie. It feels like it. The end of a performance and the end of an era. That final diner scene is just fantastic. If there is a heaven I would like it to be like that.
- This song is freaking hilarious. It's not exactly indicative of the rest of the film but it is super great.
No comments:
Post a Comment