McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

Director: Robert Altman

If this film is a deconstruction of the western genre, then this might be the best genre deconstruction ever committed to film. It subverts many traditional notions of the genre, but more impressively, it's a film that feels like a unique and great film on its own, irrespective of the statements it might be making on the western genre. It definitely subverts the myths of the western on purpose, most significantly with the lead character McCabe who initially comes into this Pacific Northwest town looking like a legendary gunslinger, but is slowly unwrapped and revealed as a man who is less a mythical figure than just a real human being. In keeping with the subversion of gender tropes in the western genre, Mrs. Miller, the madame of a group of prostitutes, comes across as quite business savvy, much more so than McCabe who seems to be taking advice from her on how to run his brothel. In this film it is the woman who influences the man.

Altman also uses the rain, the gray skies, green trees, and the fog of the Pacific Northwest setting as a way to make the film feel a bit off. It creates a naturalistic atmosphere for the film while also giving us something much more unique than the typical blue skies and endless barren flat landscapes of most westerns. That natural, and even ethereal, tone of the film is one of the most impressive elements of the film. Altman lets his setting breath, his actors emote naturally, and films everything with an unobtrusive eye. On top of that is the amazing acoustic soundtrack by Leonard Cohen. The importance that soundtrack has to the melancholic feel of the characters cannot be understated. McCabe's melancholic feelings are what truly make the movie for me. His character is such a thoughtful and subtle attack on our concept of masculinity, and his private soliloquy's to himself, especially regarding his feelings towards Mrs. Miller, provide some of the greatest moments of the film. The film does so much (there's even vilification of the no holds-barred free enterprise system) while feeling completely natural. McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a naturalist film all the way, and that's why it's amazing it does so much while doing so little.

Grade: A