What filmmaking techniques does 3 Women use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in 3 Women (1977): Dream Logic Structure, Psychological Doubling, Identity Construction and Loss and Desert as Protagonist.

Who directed 3 Women?

Robert Altman directed 3 Women, released in 1977. CineCode also covers M*A*S*H (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Nashville (1975), Popeye (1980), The Player (1992).

What films are similar to 3 Women?

Films that share techniques with 3 Women include 8½ (1963), Inland Empire (2006), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Mulholland Drive (2001).

Drama · Mystery

3 Women

Robert Altman, 1977

In a small California desert town, a shy young woman named Pinky starts work at a health spa and moves in with her chatty co-worker Millie. After Pinky jumps from a balcony and nearly dies, their personalities start to swap. Worth watching for a film Altman said came from a dream, and that plays like one.

1 Narrative 2 Psychology 1 Cinematography

At a glance

3 Women is a 1977 drama and mystery film directed by Robert Altman. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 narrative, 2 psychology and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, 8½ uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Dream Logic Structure

Arranging scenes the way a dream moves, where one image leads to the next by feeling or association. Events don't follow normal cause and effect.

How this film uses it

Events follow feeling more than cause and effect. Pinky jumps from a balcony, wakes up changed and the 2 women slide into new roles with no explanation. Altman has said the film began as a dream, and it keeps that haze.

Where to see it

The pool: after an argument, Pinky jumps from the apartment balcony into the pool and falls into a coma. When she wakes, she acts like a different person.

Psychology

Psychological Doubling

Pairing the main character with a second character who mirrors them. The double shows what the hero wants, fears or secretly is.

How this film uses it

Pinky and Millie begin as opposites, then they become mirrors of each other. Pinky copies Millie's drinking, smoking and chatter, while Millie slowly takes on Pinky's timid manner. By the end they have swapped places.

Where to see it

The role swap: back at Dodge City, Pinky is childlike again and calls Millie her mother. Millie has taken over Willie's role in running the tavern.

Psychology

Identity Construction and Loss

Showing a character's sense of self being built, borrowed or stripped away by pressure, roles or the group. Who they are shifts with what they wear, say or join.

How this film uses it

A person's sense of self can be borrowed or erased. After her coma, Pinky insists on being called Mildred, the name both women were born with. Her old shyness disappears, and Millie loses her own bossiness.

Where to see it

The new name: Pinky insists on being called Mildred. She copies Millie's habits, including shooting guns at Dodge City.

Cinematography

Desert as Protagonist

Treating a desert or vast landscape as a main character with as much screen time as the actors. It has its own arc and can dwarf, kill and transform the people in it.

How this film uses it

The dry California desert surrounds every scene, from the health spa to the apartment complex and the roadside tavern. The heat and emptiness cut the women off from anything outside, so they have only each other to turn into.

Where to see it

Purple Sage Apartments: Pinky and Millie share an apartment owned by Edgar and Willie, who paints strange murals. The building sits in the desert next to a pool.

Questions

3 Women: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does 3 Women use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in 3 Women (1977): Dream Logic Structure, Psychological Doubling, Identity Construction and Loss and Desert as Protagonist.
Who directed 3 Women?: Robert Altman directed 3 Women, released in 1977. CineCode also covers M*A*S*H (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Nashville (1975), Popeye (1980), The Player (1992).
What films are similar to 3 Women?: Films that share techniques with 3 Women include 8½ (1963), Inland Empire (2006), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Mulholland Drive (2001).

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