Movie Review: "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"

The fact that this movie was made in 1971 shouldn't deter you from renting it.  I probably saw it in the theater but didn't remember much about it except that it was really good, but in a way I couldn't describe then.  (Come on, I was 21 and my movie skills were very poor, just starting to come around.)  It is one of Robert Altman's earliest films and it is worth seeing just for that reason, especially if you have followed his movies over his lifetime and can appreciate the progression in his directing.


The movie stars two iconic figures of that time, Warren Beatty and Julie Christie.  The supporting cast is made up of character actors that we still see in support roles today.  The scene is a cold, bleak Western town, very small, very poor and very muddy.  This is probably a fairly true depiction of how some of those small towns were in those days, no wood sidewalks, no sheriff office, one saloon/boarding house and one saloon/whorehouse.  Lots of dirty men, no women to speak of except for those in the brothel.


Into this town comes John McCabe (Beatty), intent on opening a whore house and making some money.  His business sense isn't great, he isn't too smart about anything but he is smart enough to know he isn't doing a great job.  He struggles and his "girls" know nothing about whoring.  Quick on his heels comes Mrs. Miller (Christie) who is a professional prostitute and she brings her stable of women with her.  After a few episodes of butting heads, the two form a partnership and thus the brothel is in business.


The plot is simple up to that point but is complicated by a large corporation who wants to buy the entire town.  McCabe doesn't want to sell,  Mrs. Miller does, and things take a turn towards the darkness.


Beatty is excellent as the guy trying to make it big in a hard, cold world.  He has this way of talking to himself as he walks towards a building or as he mounts his horse, and it is the perfect indication of the character's uncertainty, hesitation and, at the same time, determination.  Christie is gorgeous as a tough madam who is concerned for her girls but also concerned about making money and getting out of the business.  The weather in the film is always cold, raining or snowing; the color palette is fairly monochrome and everyone, except Mrs. Miller, looks dirty all the time.  You can almost feel the cold seeping into their clothes.  In one scene, the girls are taking a bath and you can really sense their joy and relief in getting into a warm tub.


The end of the movie is as cold as the weather.  There is no justice, of course, but that was part of the lawlessness of the West.  Altman made a very good film here, a precursor of his later work.  (As a point of interest, he directed a great deal of the early TV series such as "Bonanza" and "Maverick."  His depiction of that era in this movie far surpasses anything in those series.)


The movie holds up well, the performances are excellent and it is a true study in character and place.  Check it out.

.