Sometimes these westerns are prime examples of the period they were made in. Director Robert Altman is certainly guilty of that here with his folk music soundtrack coming across as too lyrical and just trying too hard overall. But other than the poor choice in music, I feel safe saying Altman makes a nearly perfect western...if you can call this a western. It is one of the most realistic looks a movie has ever given about what frontier life was really like. It was a lawless place where one must fend for themselves. Death lurked around any corner waiting to strike. Maybe it's an anti-western, I really don't know. But just on pure emotion with an ability to tell the simplest, darkest of stories, Altman delivers a winner.
Its the Pacific Northwest in the 1890s, and a man named John McCabe (Warren Beatty) rides into a small, muddy one-road mining town high up in the mountains. He has his sights set on building a successful business for himself and letting the money roll in. The plan goes perfectly as he brings three prostitutes in and goes about building a saloon for all the miners living nearby. McCabe is quickly approached by a madam, Mrs. Constance Miller (Julie Christie), who wants to help him improve his business. Not quite sure if he wants to go into business with a woman as a partner, McCabe wavers before ultimately deciding to do it. It's the right choice, and his business thrives. If anything, it thrives too much though. The company that owns the nearby mines is very aware of his success and wants their fair share of the profits.
At the heart of this movie is Beatty and Christie as these two very similar flawed characters who find a common link between them through their arguments and disagreements. This is the type of relationship that so many westerns attempt to show between a man and woman. It's just natural, never forced. The duo was actually dating in real life apart from the movie, and their chemistry certainly shows. They have an easy-going back and forth in their conversations, whether it be an argument or a quiet discussion as they discuss what to do next. It's also a plus that in two actors like Beatty and Christie, neither made a long list of movies during their careers. They clearly chose quality projects to do, and this is a perfect example.
Altman has that rare knack that few directors have, an artsy reputation who still appeals to a mainstream audience. I like his directing style because it's never in your face. He places his camera there for a scene and lets things develop. He filmed in West Vancouver in the mountains, giving a palatable feel of being separated from humanity in this mountaintop town. It is a gorgeous movie, one that earned cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond a British Oscar nomination for his camerawork. It is a movie that feels authentic down to its very roots and the muddy streets these characters walk through. The dialogue, the period dress, the sets, the guns, all authentic as possible.
Now I've made no qualms about my preference for darker, cynical movies that shy away from generic happy endings, but this one bugged me to the point where I felt sick as the ending neared. The whole tone of the movie led me to figure out how the story was going to end up, but even seeing it feels like a train just rolled over you. This was 1971, and Altman pulls out all the stops. No one is immune from his wrath, including big and small businesses, lawyers (William Devane in a great one-scene cameo), the church and organized religion, and just about anything else you care to think of in between. Altman comes out firing with both barrels and isn't afraid who gets caught in the crossfire. That said, the ending (as much as I hated it) is the perfect, appropriate finale for this movie. Anything else would have felt inauthentic. The American dream, my ass, Altman is beyond pessimistic here.
Depending on the viewer, certain scenes in a given movie are going to have a different impact or leave an impression. This had several -- the ending obviously -- but one just minutes before that shows how fragile life on the frontier really was. Keith Carradine plays a young man known simply as the Cowboy who stops by McCabe and Miller's whorehouse, enjoys himself, and then prepares to ride out. He's confronted by one of three killers sent to dispatch McCabe and callously gunned down by the man. It is an uncomfortable scene to watch because it's clear where it's building to, and when the gunshot roars to life, you wince at the noise. With the snap of a finger, one unlucky young man is dead as quick as that. Without any pandering to the audience or a big speech explaining what just happened, Altman gets his message across.
More on the ending so SPOILERS from here on in. Three hired guns are sent to this mountain town to force McCabe into a deal or kill him in the process. All three actors are virtual unknowns, making their appearance more ominous. Who are they, and what are they capable of? McCabe has a reputation as a gunfighter, but he really isn't so when push comes to shove he loads his pistol and confronts them, not unlike the showdown at the end of High Noon. He kills them all, but at a price. He's mortally wounded and dies in the snow as a storm rages all around him. Altman films this almost 30-minute sequence with no music and little dialogue to distract from what's happening on screen. Heartbreaking, incredibly moving, however you want to describe it. It's an upsetting but perfect ending for the story.
McCabe and Mrs. Miller <---trailer (1971): ****/****
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