A perfect creative marriage: the unique relationship between Raymond Carver and Robert Altman
Robert Altman‘s work contains a quality that is almost indescribable, with a magical realism that distorts the details of everyday living in a way that feels absurd and unsettling. You finish each of his films with a sour taste in your mouth and the distinct feeling that everything is not as it seems, with the director disarming you through naturalistic moments that merge with strange and exaggerated details that disturb the illusion of normalcy.
Because of this, his films act as a social satire but through a panoramic view, often with sprawling storylines that drift across many characters who are subtly disturbed and unsettled by the rhythms of everyday life. Altman emphasises the dystopia of modern society, critiquing politics, violence and the nuclear family through a casual surrealism that hints at an undercurrent of darkness and unrest.
While many people cite his 1975 film Nashville as the ultimate example of his uniquely disturbing style and criticism of America as a whole, I would like to draw attention to his 1993 work Short Cuts, which led to the perfect creative union between Altman and one of the greatest modern writers, Raymond Carver.
Carver is known for his collections of short stories and poems, with books like Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love becoming renowned for their minimalistic plots and deeply melancholic mood that highlights the quiet tragedies of everyday life, with characters who are burdened by sadness and harsh circumstances. However, Carver’s writing also leaves you with a permanently sinking feeling that something awful is about to happen, with much of the conflict being left unsaid and instead festering in the unacknowledged tension.
The overall tone of his work fits perfectly into Altman’s story world, and for this reason, Short Cuts remains my favourite film from the director. It perfectly combines the trademarks of both creatives into a sweeping epic that charts the tragedies and triumphs of multiple characters living in Los Angeles.
The movie starts with a shot of a helicopter that drifts over the city and sprinkles pesticides through the air, introducing the idea that there is a slow poison slowly dripping through the lives of all these couples. As the film progresses, we see how the most conventional and materially happy couples are the ones that quickly decline, while the strange and non-conventional couples soon begin to thrive. Altman is critiquing the stifling standards that we have created for ourselves and the norms that we strive for, showing how the people who have achieved this end up being miserable, and those who don’t conform are able to find happiness.
It’s a delightfully cynical and jarring story that combines the storytelling elements that both creatives are known for, with an abundance of crumbling relationships, unparalleled disasters, strange miscommunications and tragic poor timing. It creates a constant feeling of dread and unease as the rot begins to spread through all of us, leaving us with a portrait of meandering disorder and dysfunction that is eerily similar to the quiet chaos that exists all around us.
