In
1973 Kansas City, Missouri born legendary filmmaker unveiled his masterful
modern-day set film-noir The Long Goodbye chronicling the criminal
underworld visited upon by Philip Marlowe (Elliot Gould). A crime thriller with many twists and turns ahead,
the film cemented Altman’s status as one of the pioneers of neo-noir,
transposing the 1950s set story to the then-modern day 1970s. Over twenty years later Mr. Altman would
revisit the noir genre again, this time reeling the clock back to the 1930s in
one of the director’s most nostalgia-driven pieces, the 1996
semi-autobiographical period noir Kansas City.
Loosely
based on a true story about a 1933 kidnapping and ransom incident involving the
city’s chief manager, the ensemble crime drama/musical revue of sorts follows
Blondie O’Hara (Jennifer Jason Leigh) desperately trying to rescue her deadbeat
husband Johnny (Dermot Mulroney) from local gangster and Jazz club manager Seldom
Seen (Harry Belafonte). Out of options,
Blondie kidnaps laudanum-addict Carolyn Stilton (Miranda Richardson) in an
attempt to persuade her political husband Henry Stilton (Altman regular Michael
Murphy) to cajole Seldom Seen into freeing her husband.
A
‘30s Depression-era set noir wrapped in a nostalgia piece chronicling Altman’s
own upbringing in Kansas City, Missouri is an atmospheric, lush noir/musical characterized
by the incorporation of real Jazz musicians into the Hey-Hey Club scenes,
creating arguably the director’s most musical ensemble piece since Nashville.
Unlike some of Altman’s more challenging
cross-cutting ensemble pieces with the overlapping dialogue and interlocking
stories, Kansas City is fairly straightforward save for when the film
loses itself in the wonderful music of the Hey-Hey Club. At times the narrative thrust stops entirely
for the music though the numbers are so captivating we don’t mind when Altman pumps
the brakes to enjoy the music.
Jennifer
Jason Leigh, just to get it out of the way, is one of the great actresses of
our generation and her role as riff raff yet devoted Blondie echoes her
rough-around-the-edges prostitute in the infamous Last Exit to Brooklyn. Miranda Richardson also presents a surprising
turn as a drug addict with more than a few secrets of her own. Arguably stealing the show is Harry Belafonte
as the gangster who reportedly improvised much of his own dialogue to pitch
perfect effect. An Altman regular
himself, watching him in this film begs the question why he never worked with
Martin Scorsese as his mobster exudes rich character and charm but also implacable
danger.
Visually
the film is a sumptuous period piece with acute attention to detail by production
designer Stephen Altman and Oliver Stapleton’s 35mm cinematography adds a soft,
warm glow to the Jazz club and interior decorum of the 30s sets. Given just how much of the film takes place
in the Jazz club, the film doesn’t contain a conventional score and our
emotional responses are offset by the straight flow of Kansas City Jazz
music. Could there really be any other
soundtrack for this film but the Jazz music so deeply infused within the city’s
character?
Nominated
for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the big budgeted period noir
epic opened to modest business despite receiving rave reviews and for years the
film was filed away as one of the director’s more underrated offerings. Making it’s blu-ray debut through Arrow Video,
Altman fans can now dive back into the netherworld of 1934 Kansas City, a place
rich with culture and music but also characterized by corruption and petty
criminals trying to get a piece of the pie.
Not one of Altman’s strongest but certainly the one borne out of the
director’s fondest memories of his youth.
It’s quiet charm sticks with you well after the picture has
finished.
--Andrew Kotwicki
