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| Short Cuts |
Gore Vidal commented that the search for 'the great American novel' had been "fruitless because it turned out to be a film" - Altman's
Short Cuts.
Altman and collaborator Frank Barhydt adapted nine short stories by Carver -
Neighbors,
So Much Water So Close to Home (also the basis for Ray Lawrence's just released
Jindabyne),
A Small, Good Thing among them - and a poem (
Lemonade) into a sprawling and ambitious work that relocates Carver's Pacific Northwest habitués to the more upscale urban setting of Los Angeles.
Despite the elevation in status, Altman's characters are no less susceptible to the undercurrents of ambivalence, longing and unease that typically bedevil Carver's characters.
Altman's fine ensemble cast includes Jack Lemmon, Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Fred Ward, Lily Tomlin, Andie MacDowell, Robert Downey Jr, Lili Taylor, Chris Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
