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Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson ... see more see more... , John Cromwell , Sierra Pecheur , Craig Richard Nelson , Maisie Hoy , Beverly Ross , John Davey , Leslie Ann Hudson , Patricia Ann Hudson , Belita Moreno

Robert Altman's Three Women takes a surreal, improvisational and rather eerie look at the lives of three women in a western desert town. The plot centers around the youngest of the women, Pinky (Sissy... read more read more... Spacek), an eccentric, withdrawn woman trying to begin a new life. She finds work as an attendant at a hot springs spa catering to the elderly and infirm. There she befriends her co-worker Millie (Shelley Duvall), an equally strange but more outgoing woman; the two bond, and are soon sharing an apartment. Pinky becomes increasingly dependent on Millie, eventually adopting aspects of her personality and appearance. This obsessive attachment is threatened when Pinky discovers Millie with a man -- Edgar (Robert Fortier), the macho, faux-cowboy husband of local artist Willie (Janice Rule), the last of the title's three women. Pinky's subsequent, desperate actions precipitate the film's enigmatic conclusion, involving an unexpected series of confrontations and role reversals amongst the three women. This story tends to take a backseat to the elliptical, spooky imagery, particularly the desert landscapes, and the quirky performances -- not surprising, given that the film was reportedly shot without a full screenplay and inspired by Altman's own dreams. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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85% liked it

6,007 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

22 critics

PG, 2 hr. 5 min.

Directed by: Robert Altman

Release Date: April 3, 1977

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DVD Release Date: April 20, 2004

Stats: 373 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (373)

  • flixsterman
    April 9, 2012
    flixsterman
    Robert Altman writes, produces and directs this film about the confluence of three 'damaged' women and their problematic interactions. The plot seems to meander here and there but Altman has a knack for getting an audience from point A to point B by way of points C, G and K.
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Altman's surreal masterpiece and Shelley Duvall's greatest performance.
  • stevenecarrier
    April 30, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    Robert Altman's "3 Women" was conceived in a dream and subsequently structured like one. Obviously, this has it pros and cons. While I suspect there is no clear one meaning to the film, it should mean something different to each viewer. The acting on display here is top notch. Sh... read moreelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek deliver two of their best performances and ultimately create a fascinating single character. "3 Women" is an uncomfortable 2 hours, full of frustration, anxiety and that hauntingly ever-present demonic artwork. One of, if not, Altman's most daring and obscure pictures. (Yes, even over "Images.")
  • pier007
    December 4, 2010
    pier007
    A surreal tale of emotional vampirism. Key proof that there is no need to fully understand a film to find it utterly fascinating.
  • rubystevens
    October 18, 2010
    rubystevens
    an impressionist masterpiece from altman quite unlike his other works. the heavy symbolism, the desert setting (it sure does look like texas), water everywhere (spas, swimming pools, fish tanks), the wonderful mythic paintings, atonal soundtrack, and startling performances (espe... read morecially shelley duvall in one of the funniest and most heart-breaking characterizations i've ever seen on screen), the dream-logic (altman famously claimed he dreamed the film and it retains that surreal quality)...it will stay in your head. certainly it's kin to persona as mulholland drive is kin to this film with their mutual themes of identity theft/merger. it's just as eerie but with a good dose of squirm-inducing humor which those films are lacking. best not try to explain it, just see it with an open mind. one of the finest american films of the 1970's and that's saying something. 1 becomes 2, 2 become 3, 3 become 1
  • harrycaul
    March 8, 2008
    harrycaul
    I may be wrong, but I always imagine "3 Women" turning off a portion of Altman aficionados, while at the same time enchanting some regular detractors of his work. A complete departure from his typical freewheeling, ensemble style of filmmaking, it has a haunting, dreamlike qualit... read morey unlike anything else I've seen. It's a tough one to describe, but the titular women are: a socially invisible chatterbox (Shelley Duvall), her adoring, childlike protege (Sissy Spacek), and a near mute artist (Janice Rule), pregnant by Duvall and Spacek's lecherous, philandering landlord. Over the course of the film, a pair of cataclysmic events cause the women to twice exchange identities. Without giving too much away, the first such transfer is straightforward enough, prompted by temporary amnesia, but the second is more abstract and disturbing, motivated by guilt and loss. If all this sounds a little heavy-going, "3 Women" is often very funny, at the expense of Duvall's would-be domestic goddess and Spacek's wide-eyed innocent. Shelley Duvall is outstanding and Sissy Spacek is equally wonderful, but the film owes much of its haunting atmosphere to Janice Rule; the fact that she says very little is somehow more mysterious than if she were to say nothing at all.
  • fb208103125
    September 27, 2011
    fb208103125
    Robert Altman created 3 Women with no screenplay based on a dream he had. The film itself closely resembles various dreams and is filled with surreal and dreamlike qualities. The story of the three women and various men throughout are observed on a daily basis within their jobs... read more and personal life, which is all flipped as the film progresses and an "accident" occurs.
  • thirdway821
    April 10, 2011
    thirdway821
    One of my fav Robert Altman films and a personal fav of mine. Everytime I watch it i'm taken away with the characters and the personas between Shelly Duvull, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule. 3 Women is a masterpiece.
  • fb555928095
    April 17, 2012
    fb555928095
    Funny, unsettling, stylish, and unforgettable, Robert Altman's 3 Women its an unforgettable film and perhaps his finest in my opinion. The film revolves around the intersecting lives of three damaged women who seek friendship, love, meaning, and self-actualization in a modern wo... read morerld into which they do not quite fit. Awkward in their interactions with society, the three women repeatedly fail at their attempts to connect and fit in, particularly with the male sex. Beautifully shot, cerebral, and moving, 3 Women plumbs the depths of introversion and alienation in a way you will never forget.
  • fb33703014
    January 26, 2012
    fb33703014
    It is like a dream in some parts, but what I responded to was that most of the film was grounded in the reality of the bond between Pinky and Millie, so that when stuff does start to get weird (i.e. most of the scenes after she wakes up from the coma) we're already with the chara... read morecters. It's not Persona, but in its own way Altman gets to have his cake and eat it too. Only those close-up inserts of the murals on the walls were strange, like "Symbolism, look!" which got a little tiring, but didn't detract from how fucking glorious these two actresses were. Oh, and the ending's alright - not bad, not great, does keep me guessing and has a nice pan to a bunch of tires.

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Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Like a dream, it is most mysterious and allusive when it appears to be most precise and direct, when its images are of the recognizable world unretouched (as happens in the film from time to time) by ... Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 5, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I have seen it many times, been through it twice in shot-by-shot analysis, and yet it always seems to be happening as I watch it. Recurring dreams are like that. Full Review

Douglas Pratt
June 4, 2004
Douglas Pratt, Hollywood Reporter

A spectacular artistic success.

Michael Atkinson
June 25, 2002
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

A gauzy, perfectly executed vacation in Doppelgänger-burg. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Robert Altman's would-be American art film (1977) is murky, snide, and sloppy. Full Review

Eric Melin
October 27, 2011
Eric Melin, Scene-Stealers.com

3 Women is definitely a slow burn of a movie, but it's also amazing how well it taps into and visualizes the subconscious. Nothing is spelled out by Altman, who wants the audience to interpret the fil... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 16, 2011
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Absorbing until it crashes in a tiresome manner trying to be too inexplicably symbolic. Full Review

Jay Antani
September 6, 2010
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer

The first half...is some of Altman's best stuff. The second half downgrades into rather pretentious and dithering malarkey Full Review

Ken Hanke
April 28, 2010
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Either a maddening essay in pointlessness, or a deeply involving work that leaves the viewer unnerved and off-balance. Which response occurs depends entirely on the viewer. Full Review

Nick Schager
May 3, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

An incisive portrait of psychological alienation. Full Review

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