222. Nashville; movie review

 

 

NASHVILLE

Cert 15

160 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexually abusive behaviour, nudity

How could you sum up the politics, music and status of the sexes in 1970s America in just over two and a half hours?

Well, Robert Altman came as near as could be possible with his head-spinning, documentary-style movie, Nashville.

This is a commentary on the state of the union through the very black lens of the country music industry and its hangers-on.

It is damning in its assumption that people can see no further than their own ambition and their individual successes and failures.

The film focuses on five days in Nashville during which a presidential candidate, Hal Philip Walker, will be holding a fund-raising gala.

Interestingly, he is never seen and only heard through a megaphone in a car which criss-crosses the city and on a radio broadcast.

I digress.

Nashville's hierarchy is based on music success and at the top of the tree are singers Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) and Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley).

There are several storyline strands which eventually tie the two singers and the political hopeful.

Other familiar names include Keith Carradine as the sleep-around vocalist of a popular trio, Lily Tomlin as the head of a gospel choir, Ned Beatty as her ambitious husband.

It is a movie which captures political ambition, those who crave stardom as well as the effect it has on those who have made it.

Racial division and sex are also key components and it is all set to a superb soundtrack (I have read that the cast had to write their own music!).

Anyway, I loved its subtlety, the quality of its acting and, ultimately, its believability,

It was as if I really had been transported back to mid-70s America. If you want to there too, watch it!

 

Reasons to watch: Classic reminder of the 70s

Reasons to avoid: If American politics is not your bag

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know?  Nashville’s musical reputation began with the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, an all-black acapella group that toured the nation during the 1870s to raise money for the university. Their 1909 recording of “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was among the first inductees to the National Recording Registry, in 2002.

The final word. Geoff Andrew, BFI programmer-at-large, who has programmed the Robert Altman season: “Beautifully performed, it’s one of the greatest films of the last 50 years – and one that could probably not get made now.” 60MW

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