3 Women

by Justin Wyatt

Released after the large-scale frescos of Nashville (1975) and Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976), 3 Women (1977) was seen as an intimate drama from director Robert Altman.

Justin Wyatt's study of 3 Women explores the film's genre defying characteristics. He argues that the film goes beyond its initial interpretation as an example of art cinema owing to its surrealist, dreamlike quality. Wyatt considers four distinct aspects of the film; the function of space and Altman's ability to guide the action through the careful unfolding of the mise-en-scene; its critique of social and sexual manners; the construction of Shelley Duvall's impressive performance; and the ways through which the film can be interpreted generically as alternately a psychological drama, a puzzle film, a dark comedy, and a horror film.

Using archival materials from the Robert Altman Archive at the University of Michigan Special Collections, Wyatt explains how this broader reading of 3 Women uncovers a most valuable film text with particular interest to those interested in performance, unique cinematic storytelling methods, and an exacting social satire of American life in the late 1970s. He situates the film within Altman's oeuvre, arguing that it is one of the most significant films in the filmmaker's illustrious filmography.

Genres: Film

104 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2024

Reviews

[Karen]

I took a class on Robert Altman from Justin many years ago. It was great to see the film again and read his interesting takes on it.

[Ernest]

perfect timing for me to read the final chapter after watching mulholland drive, though i do think the author focus too much on the comparison. same w/ the rest of the book. nevertheless, some good points inferred from historical/social context

[Keith Messenger]

Having just recently reviewed the BFI Classics critique of David Lynch’s ‘indecipherable’ film Eraserhead, Robert Altman’s dreamy 1977 film 3 Women provides similar challenges to US ‘film academic’ Justin Wyatt. To be fair to Wyatt he does a decent job here, avoiding too much abstract theorising, (as is typical for this book series) cross-referencing potential interpretations of Altman’s film with other critics’ views, giving a history of the initial reactions to the film, providing career summaries of the film’s three stars (Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule) and, finally, outlining the intriguing parallels between Altman’s film and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

Particularly standing out for me is the (deserved) focus on the role of Shelley Duvall and giving credit to the extent (c. 80%) to which Duvall created her character (Millie Lammoreaux) and the associated dialogue. As well as setting the Millie character in the context of so-called ‘second-wave feminism’, Wyatt also picks up on (for me, a more blatant linking) the uncanny paralleling of Millie’s delusion and self-obsession with the use of modern social media. On a point of detail, the section on Janice Rule’s career omits reference to one of the actress’ more memorable roles, that of the actress and ex-lover in the 1968 Burt Lancaster film, The Swimmer. On the comparison with Mulholland Drive, Wyatt deserves acknowledgement (whether ‘significant’ or not) in picking up on the use of two pairs of characters (the elderly couple greeting Naomi Watts at the airport and the supposed parents of Sissy Spacek) whose identity and purpose is left unresolved. On the broader comparison between the films, whilst the ‘dream elements’ are certainly in common, I have always taken MD as being ‘about’ Hollywood (satire) and 3W to be ‘about’ feminism.

[Ryan]

My only complaint about this book is that I wish it was three times longer.

[Lexie]

truly my favorite movie. i love how every single person who sees it has a different interpretation.

[Francesca Weil]

Cool to learn more about this movie that I love. Wanna read more like this

[David Klingenberger]

You’re not going to find a lot of criticism on this film, so if you’re interested in “3 Women” you almost have no choice but this just-OK monograph.