The Mastery of Altman, Take 1

The Altman film festival commenced Friday at the Academy of Music in Northampton. While this intrepid Collegian critic was forced to miss Friday night’s opening due to work conflicts, news from those who did attend was very positive. MASH (1970) was shown, followed by a live performance from The Feelies.

Bright and early Saturday, Mogie Meagher and I (along with two Fitchburg College stowaways) braved the morning wilderness to catch a matinee showing of “Brewster McCloud.” The film did not disappoint. The credits roll (and then roll again – it’s a delightful touch) over the Houston Astrodome. There, in a fallout shelter, lives young Brewster. He wants to fly and is trying to build a pair of wings. He has some kind of mother-nestling relationship with Sally Kellerman, who trails him throughout the movie in a form-fitting trench coat, helping and protecting him along on his quest. She strips down later in the film (don’t ask me why) and exposes these wing-scars on her back, leading Mogie to speculate, “Maybe she’s a fallen angel?” This is never explained, but her ascent at the end of the film toward a bright light helps shore up the theory. Other notable things about “Brewster” – the film marks the big debut of Shelley Duvall. She looks like Twiggy and she plays Brewster’s love interest. Mike Murphy, whom you may recognize from Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” (I did, at least), co-stars as detective Mike Shaft. He’s called in because, although Brewster seems sweet and harmless, people who mess with him seem to end up… well, dead. Shaft comes in, and, so the radio playing off the mise-en-scene declares, he’s got the loveliest blue eyes anyone has ever seen. Later on one eye goes brown, as if to symbolize his fall from prestige. He’s the first to notice that all the victims have bird poo on them. On that note, he sets off trying to track down our oddball protagonist.

I’m not totally familiar with Altman’s body of work, but from what I gather “Brewster” comes at a high point in his career, and is recognized as one of his greatest films. I hesitate to use the term “masterful,” but “Brewster” does seem like the exercise of a highly skilled director. The film is comical at some points (note the madcap Lecturer who narrates the film) and scathing at others (a bird shits on a paper with a Spiro Agnew headline). One issue I take with Altman is his tendency to use about a dozen or so characters in a film. Everyone’s got something going on and nothing seems to cater overtly to any overarching theme or narrative. Generally it's not until the end of the film that all this milieu ties together, if it does at all. It's what he's famous for, but his films can suffer continuity issues as a result. In “Brewster" there are plenty of fringe characters. They all happen to be headed in the same direction.