Directed by: Robert Altman
Premise: A fictionalized last broadcast of Garrison
Keillor’s radio program.
What Works: A Prairie Home Companion mixes
musical performances with Altman’s freestyle comedy and Keillor’s Minnesota
sensibility. The combination is a successful one. The characters are colorful
and their musical performances are very entertaining. The banter between the
characters utilizes the best of Altman’s filmmaking approach, allowing actors
to create, but at the same time using the premise of the story, the closing of
the theater, to give the story some shape. The film nails elements of Minnesotan
culture and Minnesotan sensibilities in ways that are not exaggerated like they
were in Fargo.
What Doesn’t: Like most other Altman films, A
Prairie Home Companion does not conform to the usual rules or conventions of
structured three act narratives. Altman’s films often eschew plot and formal
writing in favor of allowing actors to experiment and adlib their dialogue.
While some have praised this technique, it creates situations in which scenes
ramble on and on and stories that come to no conclusion.
DVD extras: Commentary track, featurette, extended
musical segments, trailers.
Bottom Line: A Prairie Home Companion is an interesting film within Altman’s career. It mixes the narrative more successfully than some of his other work, while retaining Altman’s signature style.