REVIEW: ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’ is Robert Altman at his best
McCabe & Mrs. Miller, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary at New York City’s Film Forum, is a stirring, breathtaking western from director Robert Altman. Starring Warren Beaty and Julie Christie as the title characters, the drama serves as a fitting commentary on the power of change, the fear of the future and the attractiveness of making a dollar.
Beatty’s McCabe is a man who talks the talk much more than he walks the walk. He has his sights set on the small frontier town of Presbyterian Church. He plans to run the business interests in town, including the local brothel. In order to keep the workers and the clients happy, he partners with Christie’s Mrs. Miller, and the two form a capitalistic bond built on money and prospects.
Beatty, in his usual dashing self, is a smooth talker who is a good chum around the poker table but also knows how to get down to business. He strong arms the local saloon keeper, played by René Auberjonois, and starts building his small empire.
However, Christie’s Mrs. Miller is no pushover. She has a clear idea on how to run a brothel, and she believes McCabe is shortsighted when it comes to making some real money. She brings in different workers, improves the conditions and tries to generate a positive reputation in the town.
The two partners, destined to become romantic partners as well, would be fine in their western oasis. However, other prospectors want in on the local area and the money that can be found in the zinc mines. They come in, suits all trim, looking to buy McCabe out of his holdings. At first, he attempts to negotiate, but Mrs. Miller reminds him these guys leave blood in their wake. He should take the offer, but is it still on the table?
The Leonard Cohen soundtrack is wonderfully fitting, especially the recurring song that opens the movie. His poetic voice nicely matches the characters and their predicaments.
The look of McCabe & Mrs. Miller is so beautiful. The frontier town is like a little set from an amusement park. There’s a bunch of shoddy buildings hanging near a network of rickety bridges. The temperatures are cold, so these forlorn and forgotten residents always have a ghost of air following them around.
Religion can be found in Presbyterian Church and not only in the town’s name. There’s a new church being built, and one of the most striking shots is a twilight image of the cross being placed on the steeple.
Some of the nighttime scenes, when the men and women of the town are lit by candles, are the most intimate and effective. This is a western movie that cares about conversation and pathos. To classify McCabe and Mrs. Miller as an action film would do the movie a disservice (although the final blizzard shootout is stellar). It’s a story, adapted by Altman and Brian McKay from a novel by Edmund Naughton, that finds its rhythm from the everyday conversation of people yearning for more money and satisfaction.
Who knew there could be such subtlety in a frontier western picture.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
- McCabe and Mrs. Miller
- 1971
- Directed by Robert Altman
- Written by Altman and Brian McKay; based on the novel by Edmund Naughton
- Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, René Auberjonois, Michael Murphy, Antony Holland and Shelley Duvall
- Running time: 121 minutes
- Rating:
