Main Cast: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson
Release Year: 1977
Country: US
Run Time: 125 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Robert Altman's Three Women takes a surreal, improvisational and rather eerie look at the lives of three women in a western desert town. The plot centers around the youngest of the women, Pinky (Sissy Spacek), an eccentric, withdrawn woman trying to begin a new life. She finds work as an attendant at a hot springs spa catering to the elderly and infirm. There she befriends her co-worker Millie (Shelley Duvall), an equally strange but more outgoing woman; the two bond, and are soon sharing an apartment. Pinky becomes increasingly dependent on Millie, eventually adopting aspects of her personality and appearance. This obsessive attachment is threatened when Pinky discovers Millie with a man -- Edgar (Robert Fortier), the macho, faux-cowboy husband of local artist Willie (Janice Rule), the last of the title's three women. Pinky's subsequent, desperate actions precipitate the film's enigmatic conclusion, involving an unexpected series of confrontations and role reversals amongst the three women. This story tends to take a backseat to the elliptical, spooky imagery, particularly the desert landscapes, and the quirky performances -- not surprising, given that the film was reportedly shot without a full screenplay and inspired by Altman's own dreams. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Review
Few filmmakers short of Luis Buñuel have made better onscreen use of dreams than Robert Altman, and 3 Women is the film in which he most successfully (and disturbingly) captured the hazy logic and off-kilter visual perspectives of the unconscious state. Shelley Duvall delivered the best work of her career as a woman so shallow that it never occurs to her that people are laughing at her behind her back, and Sissy Spacek is brilliant as Pinky, the naive girl who worships her; their emotional give and take as they begin to exchange personalities exemplifies the kind of risky but satisfying performances that Altman knows how to draw from actors. Gerald Busby's quietly troubling, discordant score and Bodhi Wind's surreal artwork are singularly appropriate aural and visual backdrops, while Charles Rosher Jr.'s cinematography layers the images in intoxicating washes of yellow and blue. While Altman has made a career out of endings that don't spell themselves out, the conclusion of 3 Women is both vague and provocative -- have we witnessed the aftermath of a tragedy, a descent into insanity, or a quiet but defiant call to arms? Altman isn't telling, but one can read 3 Women in a number of ways and still walk away convinced that it's a work of singular vision and emotional power from one of the most gifted American filmmakers of his generation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
John Cromwell - Mr. Rose; Sierra Pecheur - Bunweill; Craig Richard Nelson - Mr. Maas; Maisie Hoy - Doris; Beverly Ross - Deirdre; John Davey - Dr. Norton; Leslie Ann Hudson - Polly; Patricia Ann Hudson - Peggy; Belita Moreno - Alcira
Credit
James D. Vance - Art Director, J. Allen Highfill - Consultant/advisor, Tommy Thompson - First Assistant Director, Robert Altman - Director, Dennis M. Hill - Editor, Monty Westmore - Makeup, Charles Rosher Jr. - Cinematographer, Robert Altman - Producer, Scott Bushnell - Producer, Modern Film Effects - Special Effects, Jim Webb - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Portman - Sound/Sound Designer, Chris McLaughlin - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Altman - Screenwriter
3 Women is a 1977American film directed by Robert Altman, starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule. The story came directly from a dream Altman had, which he did not fully understand, but nonetheless adapted into a treatment, intending to film without a script. 20th Century Fox greenlit the project on Altman's reputation, but a script was completed before filming, although, as with most Altman films, the script is just a beginning point for what he shoots during production.
The minimal plot involves two women whose personalities are in sharp contrast when they first meet and move in together. The third woman of the titular three is a key supporting character—a mural artist who lives at the same apartment building. The events take place in a small desert community typical of those found east of Los Angeles. For obvious reasons the film has a dream-like quality, focusing more on behavior, mood and mystery than on plot devices.
What the film is about exactly is open to interpretation, and even Altman has said he is not sure what the ending means but has a "theory" about what happens. What is clear is that the two principal characters undergo a transformation in which they exchange their relative status to each other. In this way, 3 Women has a kinship with Bergman's Persona.
Duvall plays a woman who is very confident of her personal charisma, and her attractiveness to men in particular, despite the fact that the men she hits on openly mock her for it. Spacek is a naive, childlike woman, who refuses to talk about her past and who initially idolizes Duvall. They both work at a physical therapy facility and much of the film takes place at their apartment building, where the third woman creates striking and somewhat unsettling murals.
For years, the film was not available in home video in any form. This was alleged to be due to music rights; reportedly, the distributors of Altman's films Images, California Split, 3 Women, and Health, had not negotiated music rights for home video release of the films, and, due to their relative obscurity, they were never expected to be released.
3 Women was the first of these films to be released when The Criterion Collection licensed the rights from 20th Century Fox. The DVD includes an anamorphic transfer in the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio and a commentary track by Robert Altman.
