Region 5. Eros Rs 299
Of all the renegade filmmakers who emerged from Hollywood in the 1970s – Coppolla, Scorcese, Spielberg, dePalma – the one who found the least commercial success was probably Robert Altman. Yet few directors have found such adulation among from their own, and Altman’s idiosyncratic influence can be seen in films as varied as Magnolia and Monsoon Wedding. A Prairie Home Companion was his last film (he died the year it was released), and in many ways, it feels like the final film of a great director.
A Prairie Home Companion is an actual radio show that is broadcast from St Paul, Minnesota. It is hosted by the writer Garrison Keillor and features a mix of musical numbers and folksy tales. In this film, scripted by and starring Keillor himself, the show is about to be closed down by the sponsors. Ostensibly a behind-the-scenes look at a radio programme, the film is also Altman’s way of orienting us with his views on impending death.
Trademark Altman touches – an ensemble cast, overlapping dialogue – lend this film an off-kilter feel that recalls some of his best work (Nashville, McCabe and Mrs Miller). The cast, packed with Oscar nominees, is charming. Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson and John C Reilly are performers on the show (and do their own singing), while Keillor plays himself. Tommy Lee Jones is a morose corporate hitman and Kevin Kline is hilarious as a cut-rate Raymond Chandleresque private eye fascinated by Virginia Mardsen, who is credited as “Dangerous Woman”. Watching all these actors play off each other, with their constant movement from the green room to the stage, it’s obvious that Altman never lost his powers till the very end. Uday Bhatia |
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