Directed by:
Robert AltmanCinematography:
Walt LloydComposer:
Mark IshamCast:
Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Jack Lemmon, Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Lili Taylor (more)Plots(1)
Using the short stories of Raymond Carver as a jumping-off point, American maverick director Robert Altman weaves a tapestry of interlocking tales set against the seedy backdrop of contemporary middle-class Los Angeles. Tracking the various stages of denial, rage, and despair in the lives of several couples--a philandering cop and his masochistic spouse (Tim Robbins and Madeline Stowe); a helicopter pilot who gets revenge on his ex by trashing her house (Peter Gallagher and Frances McDormand); a man and woman whose perfect life falls apart when they lose their son in a hit-and-run accident (Bruce Davison and Andie MacDowell); a pool cleaner who listens in mounting frustration to his wife performing phone sex each day while tending her brood of children (Chris Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh); a wealthy couple who are haunted by an incident from the past (Matthew Modine and Julianne Moore); an aging jazz singer and her suicidal daughter (Annie Ross and Lori Singer); an alcoholic limo driver and his waitress wife (Tom Waits and Lily Tomlin)--Altman reveals their common threads of family dysfunction and marital discord in the unforgiving glare of the Southern California sunlight. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Andie MacDowell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/886/164886172_fd2e27.jpg)
Andie MacDowell
USA
Best movies:
Groundhog Day (1993)
Only the Brave (2017)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012) - a.f.
![Bruce Davison](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/269/269047_f751df.jpg)
Bruce Davison
USA
![Jack Lemmon](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/219/165219959_48453f.jpg)
Jack Lemmon
USA
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
JFK (1991)
The Apartment (1960)
![Julianne Moore](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/933/162933836_17da45.jpg)
Julianne Moore
USA
Best movies:
The Fugitive (1993)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Magnolia (1999)
![Matthew Modine](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/494/163494396_d4d82f.jpg)
Matthew Modine
USA
Best movies:
Stranger Things (2016) (series)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
![Anne Archer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267466_52bf3d.jpg)
Anne Archer
USA
Best movies:
The Road to Santiago (1999) (series)
Felon (2008)
The Last of His Tribe (1992) (TV movie)
![Fred Ward](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267428_602de2.jpg)
Fred Ward
USA
Best movies:
The Right Stuff (1983)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
![Jennifer Jason Leigh](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/072/165072646_d47744.jpg)
Jennifer Jason Leigh
USA
Best movies:
Who Cares a Lot?: The Greatest Videos (1999) (music video)
Road to Perdition (2002)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
![Chris Penn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267469_8a4f01.jpg)
Chris Penn
USA
Best movies:
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
True Romance (1993)
Short Cuts (1993)
![Lili Taylor](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/877/162877136_da6ddb.png)
Lili Taylor
USA
Best movies:
Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) (TV movie)
The Conjuring (2013)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
![Robert Downey Jr.](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/419/164419362_6aa8cb.jpg)
Robert Downey Jr.
USA
Best movies:
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Oppenheimer (2023)
![Madeleine Stowe](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/969/162969039_95271b.png)
Madeleine Stowe
USA
Best movies:
12 Monkeys (1995)
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Closet Land (1991)
![Tim Robbins](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/921/163921450_a7778f.jpg)
Tim Robbins
USA
Best movies:
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Mystic River (2003)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012) - a.f.
![Lily Tomlin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/160/164160709_3d23d4.jpg)
Lily Tomlin
USA
Best movies:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Short Cuts (1993)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
![Tom Waits](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/271/271590_2bea67.jpg)
Tom Waits
USA
Best movies:
Down by Law (1986)
The Fisher King (1991)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012) - a.f.
![Frances McDormand](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/766/163766154_996d62.jpg)
Frances McDormand
USA
Best movies:
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Fargo (1996)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
![Peter Gallagher](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/167/022/167022620_143670.png)
Peter Gallagher
USA
Best movies:
American Beauty (1999)
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
Short Cuts (1993)
![Lori Singer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/274/274408_7c0284.jpg)
Lori Singer
USA
Best movies:
Short Cuts (1993)
Experimenter (2015)
Footloose (1984)
![Lyle Lovett](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267436_9e0034.jpg)
Lyle Lovett
USA
Best movies:
Short Cuts (1993)
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
![Buck Henry](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/979/164979223_cf3fb2.jpg)
Buck Henry
USA
Best movies:
The Graduate (1967)
Taking Off (1971)
Harrison Bergeron (1995) (TV movie)