Robert Altman is known for eliciting nuanced performances from his actors. His 1977 film, 3 Women, is no different. In it, Sissy Spacek plays the inscrutable Pinky Rose, a childlike woman who is infatuated with Shelley Duvall’s character, Millie Lammoreaux. Pinky morphs over the course of the film, eventually adopting Millie’s persona, much to Millie’s confusion.
Duvall and Spacek construct their characters through their faces. In this more impressionistic video essay, I juxtapose the faces and the performances of Duvall and Spacek, occasionally also adding an appearance of Janice Rule, who plays Willie Hart (the third woman).
You can watch 3 Women at the IU Cinema on Saturday, March 24, 3:00 pm, as part of the series 5X Robert Altman: From the Margins to the Center.
Laura Ivins loves stop motion, home movies, imperfect films, nature hikes, and Stephen Crane’s poetry. She has a PhD from Indiana University and an MFA from Boston University. In addition to watching and writing about movies, sometimes she also makes them.