The day-to-day lives of a number of suburban Los Angeles loosely connected residents who cross paths. The role of chance and luck is central to the film, and many of the stories concern death and infidelity.
25 July 1930, Mitcham, Surrey, England, UK
20 February 1967, Glencoe, Illinois, USA
24 August 1947, Los Angeles, California, USA
13 August 1965, Sacramento, California, USA
8 February 1925, Newton, Massachusetts, USA
30 October 1963, Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA
5 July 1984, Santa Clarita, California, USA
16 October 1958, West Covina, California, USA
9 December 1930, New York City, New York, USA
7 December 1949, Pomona, California, USA
1 February 1982, Los Angeles, California, USA
6 November 1957, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
9 June 1921, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
10 July 1947, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
24 August 1949, Bangor, Maine, USA
21 April 1958, Gaffney, South Carolina, USA
1 November 1957, Klein, Texas, USA
January 22, 2012
We are never made to care much about the afflicted characters because Altman doesn't and thereby the stories carry very little weight.
February 27, 2008
Inevitably it's a mixed bag, though the film's assurance in keeping it all coherent is at times exhilarating.
June 24, 2006
From the exhilarating opening, you know Altman's epic 'adaptation' of eight stories and a poem by Raymond Carver is going to be special.
April 07, 2016
It's a funny/scary vision, with a manic edge -- which is why, when you come down from the high of the filmmaking, you may be left with the taste of ashes in your mouth. Altman's artistry can make you happy even when his art offers cold comfort.
May 20, 2003
The lives are often desperate and the characters inarticulate, but the group portrait is as grandly, sometimes as hilariously, realized as anything the director has ever done.
February 27, 2008
Cool, clever and complex, Altman succeeds in bringing out the best from a highly talented cast.
February 27, 2008
The film is fascinating and complex, and benefits from a densely textured soundtrack that makes it as interesting to listen to as to watch.
February 27, 2008
Performances are low key but accomplished, comedy and tragedy are delicately balanced and the whole thing has the feel of a sprawling but very absorbing soap.
April 28, 2011
The epidosic (by necessity) movie is uneven, but some of the stories are poignant and the acting always compelling
February 27, 2008
As the grand ringmaster, it's here that Altman passes the baton to his actors , whose behavioral insights are critical to the film's success.
May 12, 2001
Triumphantly fierce, funny, moving and innovative.
