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Actors: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about 3 Women |
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Written and directed by Robert Altman (and said to be inspired by a series of dreams he had), this film is a bizarre and slightly disturbing glimpse into the intertwining lives of three strange women in a depressing desert town.
Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek) is a painfully shy and extremely odd young woman, eager to make a fresh start in life. Pinky obtains employment as an aide at a health resort for ailing senior citizens. In the solarium, she meets Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall, “The Shining“), a similarly weird but more gregarious woman. Millie is searching for the finer things in life, choosing to lunch at the hospital across the street. Though the meal is slightly more expensive, Millie hopes to meet an eligible young doctor. The doctors and her co-workers ignore Millie's endless and annoying commentary, yet Pinky finds her fascinating. With a bit of determination and convincing on Pinky's part, the two women slowly become friends. Millie is looking for a new roommate and enthusiastic Pinky quickly fills the bill. To celebrate their new living arrangement, Millie proudly takes Pinky to her hangout - a remote watering hole complete with a shooting range on the premises. Millie introduces Pinky to bar owners Edgar Hart (Robert Fortier), a wannabe cowboy full of machismo, and his silent, pregnant wife, Willie (Janice Rule). Pinky is mesmerized as she spies Willie painting an unusual mural on the floor of an empty, concrete swimming pool.
When Pinky arrives at her new address, she discovers the same curious mural in the pool and learns that Edgar is also the apartment complex owner. As the weeks go by, Millie becomes increasingly dependent on idiosyncratic Millie, ultimately assuming characteristics of her personality and appearance. Pinky's obsession with Millie is in jeopardy when a desperate Millie returns home with a drunken Edgar one night. Pinky begs Millie to rethink her decision about sleeping with the married, father-to-be. Furious, Millie orders Pinky to leave the apartment while she gets down to business. In retaliation, Pinky hurls herself off the balcony into the pool below, with a frantic Willie soon coming to her rescue. Pinky's recovery soon sparks a startling chain of events and role reversals between herself, Millie and Willie.
--Tara Dugan, Resident Scholar
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3 WOMEN is a movie written, produced and directed by Robert Altman in 1977.
The lives of three women intersect, become estranged and finally merge in this very peculiar and symbolic Altman film. Millie works in a spa where she tries her best to become everybody's friend but is considered as an intruder. Pinky is new at the spa and is very impressed by Millie. She manages to become Millie's roommate, penetrates all the hidden thoughts of her friend by reading her private diary and, unconsciously, tries to become a second Millie. Meanwhile, Willie, the owner of the building they live in, is painting strange figures on the walls and the pool's floor.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of 3 Women |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Woman/class/friends story?
- women's (plural) story
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- servant
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- obsessed
- mentally ill
- deluded
- wild
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
- red
Hair type
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- (woman) skinny
- (woman) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Dumb?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (woman) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 80%
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
- California
Desert?
Yes
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- all mixed up
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
- impregnation/reproduction
Any profanity?
- None
- Occasional swearing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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