Three Women (1977)

Two roommates/physical therapists, one a vain woman and the other a mysterious teenager, share a bizarre relationship.

Director:

Robert Altman

Writer:

Robert Altman

Stars:

Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shelley Duvall	...	Millie Lammoreaux
Sissy Spacek	...	Pinky Rose
Janice Rule	...	Willie Hart
Robert Fortier	...	Edgar Hart
Ruth Nelson	...	Mrs. Rose
John Cromwell	...	Mr. Rose
Sierra Pecheur	...	Ms. Bunweill
Craig Richard Nelson	...	Dr. Maas
Maysie Hoy	...	Doris
Belita Moreno	...	Alcira
Leslie Ann Hudson	...	Polly
Patricia Ann Hudson	...	Peggy
Beverly Ross	...	Deidre
John Davey	...	Dr. Norton

Storyline

Pinky is an awkward adolescent who starts work at a spa in the California desert. She becomes overly attached to fellow spa attendant, Millie when she becomes Millie's room-mate. Millie is a lonely outcast who desperately tries to win attention with constant up-beat chatter. They hang out at a bar owned by a strange pregnant artist and her has-been cowboy husband. After two emotional crises, the three women steal and trade personalities until they settle into a new family unit that seems to give each woman what she was searching for.

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Plot Keywords:

surrealism | identity swapping | social satire | identity | number in title | 

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Taglines:

1 woman became 2/2 women became 3/3 women became 1

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some analyses of the film have said that the Janice Rule, Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek characters, especially at the end of the movie, represent the grandmother, mother and daughter, respectively. In reality, Duvall and Spacek are approximately the same age - 27 and approaching 27 in the fall of 1976 when the movie was filmed - while Rule was 45 at the time.

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Goofs

When Millie and Pinkie prepare for dinner party, the time line is way out of whack. Scene begins in early morning, as Millie wakes Pinkie and tells her she is going grocery shopping for the dinner. Millie returns from store (presumably within an hour or so), Pinkie carries out garbage after spilling shrimp cocktail on herself and, en route to trash cans, meets dinner guests who say they can't come because they're on way to a beer joint instead - a scene that would have occurred no later than mid-morning and means that seven or more hours are unaccounted for.

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Quotes

Millie Lammoreaux: That's Dirty Girtie! Pull her bow and she'll say hello!

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Connections

Referenced in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

User Reviews

1 + 1 +1 = ?

I've wanted to see Robert Altman's "3 Women"(1977) for long time and finally saw it last night. The references to one of my all time favorites, Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" are obvious: two young women, the main characters (seemingly meek, childlike Pinky and outgoing and seemingly popular but in reality a sad loser Millie seem almost to exchange identities, or to become one in a desperate search for connection and sense of belonging but "3 Women" is memorable and haunting on its own terms. It makes you think long time after it's over. As a matter of fact, I am still thinking about it. I think that it is an incredible work of an extraordinary master. As always in his best films, Robert Altman is terrific - innovative, iconoclastic, free-spirited, unconventional, and truly original. He is a great humanist who sees through his characters but never makes fun of them and he understands them. Under his directing, Shelly Duvall and Sissy Spacec gave two astonishing performances. They were both great but Duvall was a revelation. She adapted the loquacious Millie's personality and become the character. Altman had discovered Duvall at one of the malls in Texas where she was selling cosmetics and given her roles in his six films. I want also to mention the eerie music, the dreamy and uneasy atmosphere of something sinister ready to happen, the scary and mesmerizing murals on the bottom of the pool that the third woman, silent and mysterious, tired and wise Willie (Janice Rule) was painting. Altman did not try to trick or confuse me, and the story seems to be simple one but I am not sure that I understood everything, especially the enigmatic ending. Altman was aware of the effect of his movie to the viewers and in his commentary he says that he sees the film as a painting and that the audience should feel it but not understand it. In this regard it also reminds of "Un chien andalou" (1929) which was supposed to be experienced directly and not analyzed by the viewers.

"3 Women" is another great film by one of the best American film directors. I've never seen a bad film from Robert Altman.

9/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1977 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Robert Altman's 3 Women

Filming Locations:

The Hidden Springs Ranch Club, Thousand Palms, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lion's Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1