Nashville (1975)

The first five minutes of Nashville, which happens while the credits are still rolling, show us the strengths of the movie. Lilly Tomlin can’t sing at all and Henry Gibson can only sing a little bit, but Altman lets them try and they are a lot of fun to watch. I usually don’t like movies that have multiple characters and story lines. In general, I like to be drawn into a narrative. Nashville has at least ten characters with ten story lines going on, but it isn’t hard to follow. All the stories are loosely tied together but they can all also stand alone.

The acting was great. Keith Carradine as a sleazy singer, Ronee Blakley as a troubled Lorretta Lynn type, Lilly Tomlin as a Gospel singer who strays and Henry Gibson as an arrogant country singing star were particularly great. The music was also tremendous, although much of it was sung by amateurs. Keith Carradine scene singing “I’m Easy” is one of my favorite musical scenes in the movies.

Keith Carradine is a really despicable, insecure character. As he makes love to his women he listens to tapes of his own music. After he conquers Lilly Tomlin’s character he immediately calls another girl when she has to leave. Fame doesn’t necessarily bring happiness in Nashville, which may the moral of this tale.

The movie is 159 minutes long but it doesn’t drag for a second. Time just flies by watching this movie and it gets better with each viewing. The ending doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the movie, even though it is trying to tie all the strands together. But still a great, great movie.