Review of Nashville

After having seen this film for the third time - the first was in film school many years ago - I'm struck by the amount of action going on within many of the shots. Mention is frequently made of Altman's use of overlapping dialogue in the sound but what struck me this time around is how often two or more characters, acting out different lines of the story are captured within the same shot - giving this film much of its sense of verisimilitude, a fantastic control of pace while feeling natural. Unarguably, much of its naturalism comes from the lens and cinematographic choices but part of it also stems from the choices made available in the cutting room, which give it an excellent pace and rhythm.

Add to that some wonderful performances, especially by Henry Gibson and Ronee Blakely, and you have a quintessential American Independent film that speaks about America in terms that no marketing agency of the current generation would ever tolerate.