Short Cuts

How this film uses it

The film cuts among about 2 dozen characters across the city. A pool cleaner, a baker, a cop, a jazz singer and a family at a hospital never get their own separate movies. Their lives overlap by small coincidences, so the city feels like one big nervous system.

Where to see it

The opening: helicopters spray for medflies across Los Angeles. The flight path brings various characters into the film.

How this film uses it

Raymond Carver wrote about working people in the Pacific Northwest. Altman moves his stories to Los Angeles and weaves them together. The familiar plots of drinking, cheating and sudden grief take on a different edge in a big sunny city.

Where to see it

The Casey storyline: a boy is hit by a car on his birthday and seems fine, then falls unconscious. His parents wait at the hospital while the baker keeps calling about the birthday cake.

How this film uses it

Chance decides who lives and dies. A boy steps in front of a car, a killing may be blamed on an earthquake and nobody has control. The film refuses to give these events a moral reason, which makes them feel true.

Where to see it

The earthquake: after Jerry kills a young woman with a rock, a major earthquake strikes. The aftermath suggests his act might be mistaken for damage from the falling rocks.

How this film uses it

Characters sing and play within the story, so music belongs to people instead of to the soundtrack. A jazz singer performs, and her daughter plays the cello at a concert that links some of the characters. The performances show what the players hold inside.

Where to see it

The cello concert: at the start of the film, Zoe Trainer performs on cello. Two of the couples meet there and agree to a Sunday dinner.

How this film uses it

Three friends find a body while fishing and decide to keep fishing. They tie her to the rocks, report it later and then avoid each other's eyes. The secret stays with them and colors every relationship they have afterward.

Where to see it

The fishing trip: Stuart, Gordon and Vern discover a young woman's body in the water. They tie her to the rocks and continue fishing before reporting it.