Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Simply A Masterpiece

Good concept, poorly executed.

A different way of telling a story

A kidnapping and a robbery move the plot forward in a film that's less about plot than about cultural ambiance. "Kansas City" is mostly a cinematic expression of place and time. It's 1934, when gangsters and jazz ruled and Blacks and Whites went their separate ways.Visuals are very dark. And though the film is in color, tints are muted, which conveys a nostalgic, sentimental mood. The thin plot takes place largely at night. And the plot alternates with dark interior scenes at the Hey Hey Club, a risqué, all-Black speakeasy where an all-Black band jives free-form jazz, and where illegal gambling fills the back rooms.None of the characters are sympathetic. But I don't think they're supposed to be. They're archetypes, models of desperate people in desperate times. A gun-wielding gangster's girl named Blondie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) wants to be like Jean Harlow. Mrs. Stilton (Miranda Richardson) is a wealthy, spaced-out politician's wife. Seldom Seen (based on a real-life person and played by Harry Belafonte) is the cigar smoking godfather who rules the dark, smoky Hey Hey Club with an iron fist and who likes to stand around giving lectures to people.The script's dialogue is mostly subtext, with message directed less at other characters than at viewers. And, as in other Altman films, then-current politics dance around the edges of the seedy story. The overall tone mixes depression with desperation.For me this is an easy film to judge. The characters and plot I cared for not at all. Jennifer Jason Leigh was painful to watch. And though the jazz is performed with great competence, its free-form, improvisational style is too contemporary to reflect the 1930s. On the other hand, Miranda Richardson gives a fine performance. Attention to detail in costumes, sets, props, and storefront exteriors make the film come alive with era realism. And lighting is absolutely terrific.If you go into this movie expecting a deep story and well-constructed plot, you'll be disappointed. Absorb the overall texture of the film's visuals. "Kansas City" is a terrific visual portrait of a specific place at a specific time.

Robert Altman's Kansas City is not a terrible movie by any stretch of the imagination and for any other director it would be a minor triumph. Yet, given the pedigree he has provided for himself, particularly with films such as MASH, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville and 3 Women on his resume, I hold his films to a higher order than most.Perhaps for that reason most of all, I was quite disappointed by this outcome. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Miranda Richardson star as small-time hoodlum and rich politician's wives, respectively, with Leigh taking Richardson hostage in hope that her husband will be released by the notorious gangster Seldom Seen. However, all this is simply a contrivance for what Altman is really after, which seems to me to be the context and feeling of the city of Kansas City in the 1930s when Jean Harlow movies played in the local cinemas and voting was a high-stakes gamble that if gone wrong had very serious consequences.In terms of the film itself, I would consider this film to suffer from the Hudsucker Proxy syndrome: it looks fantastic with the sets and costumes all perfectly realizing the era in which it attempts to capture. Yet, the story is almost thrown together with really not attempt to clarify or make known exactly what is happening. I understand this is Altman's style, particularly for this film, but in order to string the movie along and maintain audience interest, it certainly would have helped to include a more cohesive story line. Also, Jennifer Jason Leigh doesn't fit this part in my opinion, coming off more annoying and self-conscious than sympathetic and interestingly quirky. Her dialogue and delivery seem to come right out of the 1990s and have almost no place in the setting of the rest of the characters.I admire Altman as a director too much to call this film a disaster but it is by far the weakest of all his films I have seen and makes me question why he decided to make this film. Perhaps because he grew up in Kansas City in the 1930s or he felt interested in gangsters, jazz and the setting of a growing town prior to World War II. Whatever the reason, I was frequently out of touch with the story and can really give no compelling reason to seek it out as one of Altman's finer works.

I basically concur with sws-3 from Albany, though I don't give it a 10-star rating. 'Kansas City' is a period piece from Altman's childhood. Having said that, don't expect it to brim with nostalgia. The director's trademark gentle cynicism is very much in evidence. Of course there is no 'message' but the depiction of race relations is certainly of interest. The whole film is inspired by jazz and could even be viewed as a kind of visual jazz, (with some nasty wallpaper). The ensemble cast is wonderful. Some reviewers complained that the Jason Leigh and Richardson characters did not develop a rapport, but I disagree. People who have liked other Altman films should consider giving this one a chance.

These comments about the movie and a question. I enjoyed the movie, the music , and the "feel" of the film. It seemed very authentic: the sets, the lighting, costumes and the extras in the background. Also the social atmosphere that was presented in the film of class, race and economics was very effective. I was mesmerized watching as the film progressed. However, I am at a lost as to what it was about when it got to the end. Can anyone please explain the ending? I saw the movie twice and must have missed something. Why did the politician's wife kill the crook's wife? How did her husband know that this would happen and was outside the house waiting for his wife, who wordlessly gets in the car with him. Thanks.