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Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Tim Robbins, Chris Penn, Julianne Moore ... see more see more... , Anne Archer , Matthew Modine , Fred Ward , Jack Lemmon , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Lili Taylor , Robert Downey Jr. , Madeleine Stowe , Lily Tomlin , Tom Waits , Frances McDormand , Peter Gallagher , Annie Ross , Lori Singer , Lyle Lovett , Buck Henry , Huey Lewis , Terry Adams , Jane Alden , Michael Beach , Dirk Blocker , Greg Cohen , Susie Cusack , Jay Della Valle , Robert DoQui , Jerry Dunphy , Debbie Falconer , Jarrett Lennon , Charles Rocket , Natalie Strong , Alex Trebek , Darnell Williams , Danny Darst , Andi Chapman

Based on stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts follows 22 Los Angeles residents whose lives intersect over the course of a few days. Ann and Howard Finnegan (Andie MacDowell and Bruce Davison) are pre... read more read more...paring for their son Casey's birthday party when the boy is injured in an auto accident and falls into a coma. Meanwhile, Andy (Lyle Lovett), a baker, seethes with anger over the birthday cake that wasn't claimed, and Howard's father, Paul (Jack Lemmon), decides that a visit with his ailing grandson is a good time to discuss his infidelities. Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a new mother who watches over her baby when not making money doing phone sex, which bothers her husband, Jerry (Chris Penn), though he knows they need the money. Pilot "Stormy" Weathers (Peter Gallagher) takes a very literal approach to dividing up community property with his ex-wife (Frances McDormand). Doreen (Lily Tomlin) is trying on to hold her marriage with Earl (Tom Waits), who is a good man on the rare occasions that he's sober. Zoe (Lori Singer), a classical musician, is trying to find some way to connect with her mother, Tess (Annie Ross), a jazz singer. Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife, Marian (Julianne Moore) put their bickering on hold while they have dinner with another couple, Stuart and Claire Kane (Fred Ward and Anne Archer). Stuart and his pals Gordon and Vern (Buck Henry and Huey Lewis) earlier went on a fishing trip where they discovered the body of a drowned woman but decided not to report it until the end of the weekend. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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86% liked it

20,738 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

54 critics

R, 3 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Robert Altman

Release Date: October 3, 1993

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DVD Release Date: November 16, 2004

Stats: 1,024 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,024)

  • fb100002359227440
    February 1, 2012
    fb100002359227440
    The best american film of the 90's.
  • danperry17
    November 1, 2011
    danperry17
    I count several of the stories in Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, among the best I've ever read. One of them, "A Small, Good Thing," even won the 1983 O. Henry Prize. This is the one story I already knew, the one that's most prominent in Altman's film adaptation, and it features Br... read moreuce Davison and Andie MacDowell as parents to a boy who's been hit by a car. It's among the more filmable stories that were chosen (Altman took eight, from more than one of Carver's collections, plus a poem), but it's one of the worst acted... until Jack Lemmon turns up. The Frances McDormand-Tim Robbins-Madeline Stowe love triangle might have showcased the best work, filmed as it was at the very moment all three came into their own, and the couple dynamic that Chris Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh manage is notable as well, as are Robert Downey Jr. and Lili Taylor.

    But why focus so much on the acting? Look at the cast! This is one of the biggest, best, and (Huey Lewis??) bravest ensembles of my lifetime, if not of all time, and it's worth noting that the Golden Globes gave the group a special award for its performance. I trust that all of these talents signed on for the simple reason that Carver is an American legend. Like Altman's, his stories are ram-packed with subtleties, and attempting to carry them onto the screen - with the requisite simplification or exaggeration - must have been daunting for the director, not to mention an exciting challenge for the actors.

    Unfortunately, I'm of the opinion that the experiment failed.

    What Altman does to keep the movie going - with varying success - is a simple trick in which he interconnects the various stories. So, going back to the boy who was hit by the car, the woman driving (an excellent Lily Tomlin) is a waitress married to a drunk (Tom Waits) in a different storyline. The boy and his parents live beside a teenaged cellist with a bad relationship with her lounge-singing mother, which makes another storyline, (and so on like this). Interconnectedness is a reasonable approach, given that Carver wrote about the hard bits of American life as lived by common people - things that can and do ordinarily happen to any one of us - and I can even employ Edgar Allan Poe's term for what makes a good short story, "unity of impression," in Altman's defense. Each of Carver's stories make a unified impression in their own right, and they do so as a life's work, too. But in attempting to yoke them into one setting (L.A. instead of Carver's usual Pacific Northwest) and one weekend - almost the terms of the classical unities, which required that all action happen in one place and one day - Altman hopes to create this single impression, a sort of "Here's What Ray Carver Was All About" kind of film, during which he takes the viewer on a valuable tour that's a lot more like a big, baggy novel: a plausible sequence full of great dramatic moments. What goes wrong here, though, is that he ignores the fact that these were short stories, forgetting something else that Poe said about the form: you should be able to read it in one sitting. Jumping in and out of these stories, over and over again for more than three hours, is too jarring to allow the viewer to connect with most of characters at any level deeper than the surface, and it compromises the film's potential for that gut-level "whoosh" we've all felt at the end of a great story. When he taught Creative Writing, Carver would famously tell his students, "No tricks!" It's advice Altman would have done well to remember. Jumbling these stories together is a cheap trick that robs each of its individual power, taking eight narratives and turning them into something that barely qualifies as one.

    I write this days after finally seeing Paul Haggis's Crash, where a similar technique worked much better. In that film, (1h45m, approx.), the sequence of seemingly unrelated events was arranged in a clear, overarching plot. By comparison, Short Cuts leaves you investing a lot for no reward in the end, and forces you to make do with the little brilliant flashes along the way.

    Then again, maybe that's the point. Maybe that's how film differs from literature. But for my part, I'd much rather that Altman had made an anthology-like film, and tackled each story one at a time. Even better (though not for the box office), if it has to be three hours long, an anthology is something during which you can take breaks, to let each of these powerful stories set in. In the post-network TV environment - the still bright but fading age of the DVD box set - I'd love to see someone take a crack at Carver again, in a way that lets each of his stories do the work they set out to do, and engages the work on its own level, and respeciting that fact that Carver refused to write a novel, "driven toward brevity and intensity" as he claimed to be.

    (Next writing project: a letter. "Dear HBO," it begins...)

    By the way, in Canada, three Toronto writers have led the charge all year to declare 2011 "The Year of the Short Story," as challenge to the perception that the short story is a dying medium. If any of the above resonates with you, go to www.yoss2011.com for more short story love.
  • fb1664868775
    October 18, 2011
    fb1664868775
    This film is perfect in every way. I think Altman succeeds in showing us what real people and relationships are like as well as painting a perfect picture of Los Angeles. Maybe my favorite film, def top 5.
  • stevenecarrier
    April 16, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    I have never come across a film that lends itself so perfectly to two separate artists and mediums. "Short Cuts" is as much a Robert Altman film as it is a Raymond Carver story. "Short Cuts" is Altman's adaptation of Carver's short stories and poems and it comes to thrilling life... read more. Some have criticized the film for a seeming lack of character development but I don't think it's that simple. It's epic length (the picture runs over 3 hours) can give the impression of aimlessness (but is it really 'aimless' when that's an intention?). "Short Cuts," like "Nashville," is a film about people living in a specific time and place. Where "Nashville" was about the political climate and music industry colliding in the 70s, "Short Cuts" is about the moral climate of 90s Los Angeles. Altman is asking the questions: "What is right?" "What is wrong?" "What is the proper way to conduct yourself?" "How are you supposed to go about making decisions?" "Do you ever really know someone?" "Who are the people that can impact your life?" and these are large questions to be asking. Altman uses his ensemble format to great affect here. The characters are acting out these scenarios for us to use as a mirror to our own lives. If you observe their actions you will see their character. "Short Cuts" is a modern morality tale. It's an important film in Robert Altman's career, a love letter to Raymond Carver's legacy and a kaleidoscopic ode to the city of Los Angeles. One of my all time favorite films that's deeply rewarding each time I see it. "Short Cuts" is a masterpiece.
  • ythelastman89
    March 12, 2011
    ythelastman89
    It's just nowhere near as it want's to believe it is and has the production value of a tv mini-series, but this is an essential step in the ensemble drama genre. It is very similar to movies like Grand Canyon and Crash, but I don't really see its connection to Magnolia. It uses i... read morets subjects as props rather than living, breathing things, which is what Magnolia was all about. This almost has too many characters to handle, but the cast is incredible to say the least. The interaction is corny at times, but at others it's really clever and effective. Robert Altman is either a swing or a miss for me. This is definitely a miss, but a very interesting project.
  • purplemegan
    November 16, 2009
    purplemegan
    I should pay more attention to running times before I just get random movies from Netflix. Even though it was 3 hours long, it was enjoyable for the most part. There were a few times when I got a little bored, but it held my attention. I really like those movies where everyone is... read more interconnected.
  • deano
    June 12, 2009
    deano
    Director Robert Altman scores again with this cool film that intertwines several of Raymond Carver's short stories into a fascinating, though-provoking panorama of modern-day life.
  • kiriyamakazou
    November 5, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    An absolutely huge and extremely talented cast are at the focus of this film. Obvious inspiration for Magnolia it details the lives of many people in an area of LA. As the film moves forth connections are drawn between characters and relationships explored. It's a real piece of t... read moreense cinema as twists arrive but are never forced in ridiculous soap opera ways. People act real, not always like we are used to in film. Some of their actions may be hard to explain but it is precisely this which allows the actors to fulfill their roles. Everybody gives their all to create a film that is so lifelike it is obvious to see that their stories don't end as the credits roll. There is a lot left open and some thing go unresolved, but not in a disappointing manner. At over 3 hours the pacing is excellent, moving from story to story with ease and never away long enough to forget and have trouble fitting the pieces together.
  • aliceinpunderland
    October 26, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    Magnetic, insane, and heart-stopping. Excellent build, theme of redemption, and ensemble cast. Rating not higher because Altman's zooms still irk me.
  • Redlats
    October 23, 2008
    Redlats
    I think one has to see this movie more than once to catch all the connections - there are a thousand interrelated stories (with an unbelievable large name cast - usually these sorts of movies feature unknown actors). I enjoy this type of movie. Now I need to see Magnolia.

View All Short Cuts Reviews

Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy
February 27, 2008
Todd McCarthy, Variety

As the grand ringmaster, it's here that Altman passes the baton to his actors , whose behavioral insights are critical to the film's success. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 27, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Inevitably it's a mixed bag, though the film's assurance in keeping it all coherent is at times exhilarating. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

The lives are often desperate and the characters inarticulate, but the group portrait is as grandly, sometimes as hilariously, realized as anything the director has ever done. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Triumphantly fierce, funny, moving and innovative.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie is based on short stories by Raymond Carver, but this is Altman's work, not Carver's, and all the film really has in common with its source is a feeling for people who are disconnected. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Altman, who has made a career of pulling the critics and cineastes his way, demonstrates that artistic sleight of hand once again. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

It's a genuine pleasure to find a movie with such a deep and intelligent portrayal of simple human lives, with all their minor triumphs and tragedies. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

A cynical, sexist and shallow work from cinema's premier misanthrope, Robert Altman, who here shows neither compassion for -- nor insight into -- the human condition. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 22, 2012
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

We are never made to care much about the afflicted characters because Altman doesn't and thereby the stories carry very little weight. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
April 28, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

The epidosic (by necessity) movie is uneven, but some of the stories are poignant and the acting always compelling Full Review

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  • Which actress links the movies "Unstrung Heroes", "St. Elmo's Fire", "Short Cuts", "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Multiplicity" and "Beauty Shop"?  Answer »
  • What Movie is a Series of Adaptations of Short Stories by Raymond Carver?  Answer »
  • Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" is based on the stories of which American author?  Answer »
  • In Robert Altman's Short Cuts, who does some ironing while naked from the waist down?  Answer »
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