The quintessential "Altman" feature follows 24 major characters through five days in Nashville, leading up to a political rally/ country concert. More free flowing than any of director Robert Altman's other hyperlink films, this feature clearly has no main character and moves along on the simplest plot theme, building wonderful character moments, which lead back to its core themes of fame and politics. The "plot" is thin, but the narrative is a complex and brilliantly constructed tapestry of intertwining narratives, surrounded by nearly an hour of music.
Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson, MAGNOLIA) is a Nashville icon with his big hair and white, spangled jump suit. The film begins with him recording an insipid ballad about the bicentennial. Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin, 9 TO 5) is a white gospel singer, who is married to lawyer Delbert (Ned Beatty, DELIVERENCE), who is helping organize the political rally for third party candidate Hal Phillip Walker, who is unseen throughout the film. Linnea and Delbert have two deaf sons, which Delbert cannot relate to at all. Linnea is hounded by womanizing folk rocker Tom Frank (Keith Carradine, CHOOSE ME), who is having an affair with his bandmate Mary (Cristina Raines, THE SENTINEL), who is married to his other bandmate Bill (Allan Nicholls, SLAP SHOT). Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) is a reigning queen of Nashville, but she is mentally and physically burnt out by the pressures of the music business and her controlling manager/husband Barnett (Allen Garfield, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY).
John Triplette (Michael Murphy, TANNER '88) is Walker's Los Angeles-based advance man, who has little patience for the Southern ways. Opal (Geraldine Chaplin, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS) is a clueless, star-struck reporter for the BBC, who always pokes her nose in where it is not wanted. Mr. Green (Keenan Wynn, PIRANHA) is a Nashville resident who is caring for his dying wife. Martha (Shelley Duvall, THE SHINING), who is now calling herself L.A. Joan, comes to visit her uncle Mr. Green, but spends more time trying to hook up with every guy she meets. Tricycle Man (Jeff Goldblum, INDEPENDENCE DAY) is a mysterious tricycle-driving biker, who performs magic tricks and pops up in unexpected places. Buddy Hamilton (David Peel) is the lawyer son of Haven, who has a secret desire to sing, but is forced to be his dad's business manager. Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley, NORMA RAE) is Haven's mistress, who is still reeling from the Kennedy assassinations. Connie White (Karen Black, FIVE EASY PIECES) is the second most popular female singer in Nashville, who won't even perform on the same stage as Barbara Jean. Tommy Brown (Timothy Brown, M*A*S*H) is a successful black country singer.
Pfc. Glenn Kelly (Scot Glenn, THE RIGHT STUFF) is a Vietnam soldier who has a crush on Barbara Jean. Norman (David Arkin, M*A*S*H) is the chauffeur who tries to give advice and struggles to make it in the music biz. Kenny Fraiser (David Hayward, VAN NUYS BLVD.) is a deceitful loner who carries around a fiddle case and rents a room from Mr. Green. Albuquerque (Barbara Harris, FAMILY PLOT) is a ditzy, trashy blonde who spends the length of the film running from her older, farmer husband Star (Bert Remsen, MCCABE & MRS. MILLER) as she tries to find a way to break into the music biz. Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles, CALIFORNIA SPLIT) is a waitress/ wanna-be singer, who can't sing, that discovers the dark side of the entertainment business. Wade Cooley (Robert Doqui, COFFY) is a disgruntled black man who seems to be working several jobs during the course of the film and is tired of the Nashville scene.
How the various stories overlap and build upon themselves is amazing. One of the greatest scenes is one where Tom sings a love song and all his "conquests" are in the room, reacting very differently to his new tune. The details of how Haven has his hand in various areas of Nashville business and politics are sprinkled throughout. He's been on the top for so long mainly because he knows how to play the game really well. One of his songs foreshadows the inter struggle of another character. Barbara Jean's breakdown on stage is heartbreaking. Sueleen's big break is equally sad. The closing rally is shocking is more than one way. Many plot lines come to a close in surprising, emotional ways. Many of the film's surprises are from the way people react to situations not the situations themselves.
Early on we hear a recording of Hal Phillip Walker saying that politics touches everyone's lives even if they don't think it does. Altman and writer Joan Tewkesbury set this idea up early on and weave the reality of the statement into the narrative. Fame is also skewered throughout. What people must do to hold onto fame and what people will do to gain it — or in some cases what they will do just to get close to it — is all addressed. A tragic event is foreshadowed, but the identity of the "villain" is kept open. But this is done so, less for suspense, even though it still does create tension, but more so to show the possibility for acts of violence from many sectors of the alienated American society.
NASHVILLE is a film that truly represents its time. Following political assassinations and Watergate, the film depicts a cross section of American society. Irony drips from many of the scenes. Altman is very subtle about his criticism of warped American values. It's as if the film is saying that America has transformed its core ideals into catchy slogans that are meaningless because they are only spoken and never carried through in our actions. But then again the ending is surprising in the way people react to what happens. It can be viewed various ways — both positively and cynically. If you want to be positive, you can say that America rises to the occasion when things are rough. If you want to be cynical, you can say that America tries to cover up the bad stuff with a pointless, happy song. PS… a big thanks goes out to Tim Dirks of filmsite.org (one of the best movie sites on the Net) for his great character list on this film, which helped immensely in the writing of this review.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
