Main Cast: Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Tim Robbins, Chris Penn, Julianne Moore, Anne Archer, Matthew Modine, Jack Lemmon, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey, Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Lily Tomlin, Tom Waits, Frances McDormand, Peter Gallagher, Annie Ross, Lori Singer, Lyle Lovett, Buck Henry, Huey Lewis
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 184 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Based on stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts follows 22 Los Angeles residents whose lives intersect over the course of a few days. Ann and Howard Finnegan (Andie MacDowell and Bruce Davison) are preparing for their son Casey's birthday party when the boy is injured in an auto accident and falls into a coma. Meanwhile, Andy (Lyle Lovett), a baker, seethes with anger over the birthday cake that wasn't claimed, and Howard's father, Paul (Jack Lemmon), decides that a visit with his ailing grandson is a good time to discuss his infidelities. Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a new mother who watches over her baby when not making money doing phone sex, which bothers her husband, Jerry (Chris Penn), though he knows they need the money. Pilot "Stormy" Weathers (Peter Gallagher) takes a very literal approach to dividing up community property with his ex-wife (Frances McDormand). Doreen (Lily Tomlin) is trying on to hold her marriage with Earl (Tom Waits), who is a good man on the rare occasions that he's sober. Zoe (Lori Singer), a classical musician, is trying to find some way to connect with her mother, Tess (Annie Ross), a jazz singer. Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife, Marian (Julianne Moore) put their bickering on hold while they have dinner with another couple, Stuart and Claire Kane (Fred Ward and Anne Archer). Stuart and his pals Gordon and Vern (Buck Henry and Huey Lewis) earlier went on a fishing trip where they discovered the body of a drowned woman but decided not to report it until the end of the weekend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A dazzling and dizzying adaptation of short stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts ranks with the finest work of Robert Altman's career; it's the sort of sprawling but intimate character piece for which he became known with such earlier classics as MASH (1970), Nashville (1975), and The Player (1992). While Altman's busy, overcrowded style might not seem a good match for Carver's clean lines and minimalist prose, Altman demonstrates an intuitive feel for the sleazy underside of Los Angeles (relocated from the Pacific Northwest in the original stories) that Carver's characters call home, and, like Carver, he knows how to let his characters express themselves with small gestures that say more than long speeches. The stories wind around each other with just enough connecting threads to hold the tapestry together. And as is his hallmark, Altman has assembled a superb cast and given them plenty of room to work; Jack Lemmon's monologue about cheating on his wife may be one of the finest dramatic moments of his career, and celebrated jazz singer Annie Ross creates an unforgettable portrait of a woman lost in her music. Short Cuts is the work of a master filmmaker in full command of his craft, and it's so absorbing that at the end of its three-hour running time, you may find yourself wishing you could spend even more time with these characters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Terry Adams - The Low Note Quintet #1; Jane Alden - Mrs. Schwarzmeier; Michael Beach - Jim Stone; Dirk Blocker - Diner Customer; Greg Cohen - The Low Note Quintet #3; Susie Cusack - Nancy; Jay Della - Bartender; Robert DoQui - Knute Willis; Jerry Dunphy - Himself; Debbie Falconer - Barbara; Jarrett Lennon - Chad Weathers; Charles Rocket - Wally Littleton; Natalie Strong - Mourner; Alex Trebek - Himself; Darnell Williams - Joe Robbins; Danny Darst - Aubrey Bell; Andi Chapman - Harriet Stone
Credit
Jerry Fleming - Art Director, David Levy - Associate Producer, John Hay - Costume Designer, Allan Nicholls - First Assistant Director, Jeff Rafner - First Assistant Director, Robert Altman - Director, Geraldine Peroni - Editor, Scott Bushnell - Executive Producer, Mark Isham - Composer (Music Score), John Pritchett - Musical Direction/Supervision, Stephen Altman - Production Designer, Diana Pokorny - Production Designer, Walt Lloyd - Cinematographer, Robert Altman - Producer, Cary Brokaw - Producer, Susan J. Emshwiller - Set Designer, Christopher Nelson - Special Effects, Greg Walker - Stunts, Frank Barhydt - Screenwriter, Robert Altman - Screenwriter, Hal Willner - Music Producer, Raymond Carver - Short Story Author
Short Cuts is a 1993drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. Substituting a Los Angeles setting for the Pacific Northwest backdrop of Carver's stories, the movie traces the actions of twenty-two principal characters, both in parallel and at occasional loose points of connection. The role of chance and luck is central to the film, and many of the stories concern death and infidelity.
The film was distributed by Fine Line Features, and released in the United States on October 1, 1993, to strong critical acclaim. A special DVD edition was released by the Criterion Collection in 2004, containing two-discs, the collection of Carver's short stories and an essay booklet on the film.
Dr Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife, Marian (Julianne Moore), meet another couple, Stuart and Claire Kane (Fred Ward and Anne Archer) at a concert and make a spontaneous Sunday dinner date, but both marriages show their cracks over the weekend. While Ralph and Marian Wyman avoid a taboo topic that is undermining their marriage, Stuart Kane goes on a fishing trip with some buddies (Buck Henry and Huey Lewis) and they discover a dead body in the water. Upon his return, Claire Kane is repelled to discover that Stuart and his buddies left the girl in the water until the end of the weekend so they could continue fishing.
Meanwhile, waitress Doreen Piggot (Lily Tomlin), whose lout of a husband Earl (Tom Waits) is a verbally abusive drunk, accidentally hits young Casey Finnigan (Zane Cassidy) with her car. When the little boy walks away from the accident, she assumes he is all right, but never learns the fatal consequences, or the tragic harassment his parents, Howard (Bruce Davison) and Ann Finnigan (Andie MacDowell), must face from the local baker (Lyle Lovett) who is livid because Casey's birthday cake was never picked up. Howard's father, Paul Finnigan (Jack Lemmon) drops by the hospital after a twenty-year absence and relates the story of his own infidelity. Doreen's daughter, Honey (Lili Taylor) is married to Bill Bush (Robert Downey, Jr.), a man aroused by sadism. Their party buddies, Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Jerry Kaiser (Chris Penn), face a toxic brew of phone sex and jealousy, as Lois earns her living as a phone-sex operator, leaving Jerry with a wife whose attitude toward sex is indifferent at best.
Gene Shepard (Tim Robbins) is an unethical cop who cheats on his wife, Sherri (Madeleine Stowe), and seems oblivious to the fact that his wife long ago had discovered his secret—and just does not care. Gene's mistress is realtor Betty Weathers (Frances McDormand), and Sherri's ultimate confidante is her sister, Marian Wyman (Julianne Moore). These stories are woven together with musical bridges performed by Zoe (Lori Singer), a depressed cellist, and her embittered, jazz singer mother, Tess (Annie Ross), who live next to the Finnigans.
A book was released to accompany the film, compiling the nine short stories and one poem that inspired it. Altman wrote an introduction to this collection, which featured insights into the making of the film and his own thoughts about Carver's stories.
