"Her initial withdrawal is what makes Spacek's gradual transformation so striking. As Pinky begins to emulate Millie (Shelley Duvall), her more established, relentlessly chatty co-worker, she takes Millie's adultness to an extreme: She starts smoking, layers on makeup, hooks up with their married landlord Edgar (Robert Fortier), borrows Millie's car without asking, and generally turns into a sassy pill. Spacek's voice gets a little deeper, her mannerisms more suggestive."
"Spacek had already starred in Badlands and Carrie when 3 Women came out in 1977, but nothing prepared her for director Robert Altman's free-flowing production. Despite the hyper-specific dialogue and Bergman-esque existentialism, the cast and crew mostly worked off a broad outline that Altman drew up. Spacek might not have been as unschooled as Pinky, but she got an education in unconventional filmmaking nonetheless."
"It's hypnotic from start to finish, and the arty, ambiguous ending involving Edgar's death is still as haunting as it was back when Jimmy Carter was president. Spacek essentially plays dual roles - light Pinky and dark Pinky, let's say - and to see her mutate from one to the other (and back again) is to see a master class in characterization."
Sissy Spacek was 27 during filming and portrays Pinky Rose, a naive cipher who gradually transforms from withdrawn to a more adult, unsettling persona. Pinky imitates co-worker Millie—adopting smoking, makeup, sexual encounters, and bold behavior—while Spacek deepens her voice and alters mannerisms. Director Robert Altman used a free-flowing production, working from a broad outline rather than a detailed script, prompting improvisation. The film features an arty, ambiguous ending involving Edgar's death and remains hypnotic and haunting. Shelley Duvall won Cannes best-actress, but Spacek's dual portrayal of light and dark Pinky receives equal praise and eerie acclaim.
Read at Vulture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]