We often think of the western as being set in the sunbaked, sand-filled deserts of the John Wayne and Clint Eastwood epics. Turning this idea on its head, Robert Altman takes us into the frontier lands of the wet and snowy northwest (filmed in and around Vancouver, Canada), an equally picturesque yet no less hostile terrain, in the 1971 film McCabe & Mrs. Miller.
Riding into town with his bushy beard and no less hairy fur coat, John McCabe (Warren Beatty) is a businessman looking for his next big opportunity. He sees the tiny, half-built town of Presbyterian Church (just over one hundred people) not as a hindrance, but as the perfect location to set up a one stop saloon, gambling den and whorehouse.
Hiring some local men, they get to work while he heads off to procure the working girls – purchasing some lower class ladies for the gruff, rough, and equally low class frontier men of the area.
Word gets out and one Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie), an established prostitute with a good head on her shoulders, tracks down McCabe. Pitching him a mutual business proposition, the man knows he is out of his league (especially when dealing with the day to day running of the women) and takes the 50/50 split deal.
Not the easiest movie to watch, the flow is rather unorthodox. Though it is always linear, we are never quite sure how time is passing. At first, we believe it may only be a few months, but before long, their establishment is thriving and a bustling town has grown up around them (with a bakery, hardware store and the like littering the main thoroughfare). We are never quite sure of this loose format, as it is more artful and less temporal. . . an abstract feel that sets a very unique mood. It may have seemed nearly impossible to do, but local carpenters (as well as some Americans who were fleeing conscription for the Vietnam War) dressed in period costumes and worked with tools of the time, building the town while filming occurred around them (in sequential order from beginning to end of script).
Though you may feel a bit confused (not only by the time, but also because some of the dialogue is rather difficult to hear – and not truly meant to be clearly heard), if you stick with it, you are eventually going to be drawn into the town and our protagonists’ predicaments. Namely, with McCabe and Mrs. Miller’s success (and the locals flourishing thanks to piggybacking on their hard work), in comes a corporation, represented by Sears (Michael Murphy) and Hollander (Antony Holland), who wish to purchase the business and all of its holdings. McCabe plays hardball, though the pair are not the type of people who take kindly to such things. Will McCabe’s bold stance pay dividends, or will it backfire?
A multi-faceted tale, much of the story oozes New Hollywood and the anti-establishment perspective of the time. Dealing with sex and drugs (and replacing the rock `n roll with violence), it is a prime example of the new filmmakers who ushered in this varied style of edgy, somewhat untraditional form and perspective. And, to the anti-establishment viewpoint, you will notice that big business, religion and the law/government (represented by a lawyer played by William Devane) are not to be trusted in this one. It speaks to the opinion that we must fend and fight for ourselves, and not trust in the powers that be.
Also a quasi-love story, McCabe quickly falls for his business-minded partner – who, despite her position, still turns tricks (though at an inflated rate compared to the rest of the girls). She is less quick to care for him (expecting McCabe to pay for her services), though slowly does show an admiration for the man. Yet, her first love is opium, an addict (who hides it well) that lives for the high. Christie develops an intriguing, well-rounded character that is given just as much depth and importance as her male counterpart (a rare thing to be found in a western). As for Beatty, he concocts a man who, on the surface seems sharp, quick-witted and full of confidence, yet, despite his prowess at the card table, lacks number skills and business sense – making the pair a perfect match. Another fascinating dimension finds the townsfolk constantly whispering about his past as a talented gunslinger, bandying about one particular case. When three men from the company arrive, led by a gargantuan rifleman named Butler (Hugh Millais) – perhaps with the intention of killing the man who has slighted the corporation, and hears the tale from the horse’s mouth, he senses that it is all fabrication.
Filled with enthralling faces, the people who inhabit or visit the place called Presbyterian Church must also be mentioned. Introduced in interesting ways by Altman, they each have a story to tell, and though theirs is not as complete as our two leads, there is sincerity in the performances. A young Keith Carradine plays a wet behind the ears cowboy (eager to visit the brothel), whose childlike mischievous grin and glint in his eye tells us so much more about the man than we truly ever discover. Shelley Duvall is a quiet as a church mouse mail order bride who must fend for herself after her husband is murdered one evening. René Auberjonois was the power player in town before McCabe arrived, though he sees the man as a way to advance his own status. He comes off with a unique mix of feeling both loyal and totally sketchy at the same time.
With an out-there score, three Leonard Cohen songs (“The Stranger Song”, “Sisters of Mercy”, and “Winter Lady”) play an integral part in telling the narrative. His melancholic, folk-ish ballads echo the cold, turbulent and dangerous times of the wild west era. Otherwise, the only music heard is that which the townspeople play themselves (either by instrument or by new early era technology) – providing a realistic tone that, like the comings and goings of its own residents, places us in this immersive setting.
A controversial and not always well received film in its time, multiple decades have helped it garner a better light. Considered a classic today, its unique aesthetic and original take on the western can now be seen for what it is. So, enjoy this highly hypnotic motion picture, its in extremis snowy wilderness will leave you transfixed.