by Philo Gabriel

Created on: January 04, 2010   Last Updated: May 31, 2010

“Kansas City” is one of celebrated director Robert Altman’s lesser efforts.  Altman was born in Kansas City in 1925 and lived there until entering the military to fight in World War II at age 18.  Set in 1934, the film is an homage to his hometown.

An erratic, misguided “gun moll” type (Jennifer Jason Leigh) kidnaps a prominent official’s wife (Miranda Richardson), with the intention of getting the powers that be to somehow intervene in a petty crime squabble between her husband (Dermot Mulroney) and a crime boss/night club owner with the wonderful name "Seldom Seen" (Harry Belafonte) who is holding him and threatening to kill him.  Over time Leigh and Richardson grow closer and sympathize with each other’s position, as they interact with various characters from other intersecting subplots.

Political corruption, race relations, other social issues, and jazz music are prominent in the story to varying degrees, though really just to provide atmosphere; they aren’t delved into in any significant way.

The movie is confusing in parts, but not horribly so.  I admit I didn’t get the ending.  [Spoiler warning, though I won't go into detail.]  My only guess - and it’s really a guess - is that it’s supposed to be like the ending of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” where one character kills another who wouldn’t want to live the way they now must.  So a kind of assisted or proxy suicide.  But I don’t know.

"Kansas City" is a gangster movie set in the 1930s, but it’s really not modeled after life in the 1930s so much as movies from the 1930s.  So it’s more of an homage to or satire of a certain movie genre than an attempt to be realistic.

There’s no question what’s the least realistic, most tongue-in-cheek aspect of the film.  Leigh as the kidnapper is a complete caricature.  Totally over the top, strictly playing a “type” rather than a person.  Which is not to say her acting is poor.  I thought her playing the part that way was grating and detracted from the film; however it’s entirely possible her performance is exactly what Altman wanted for that character.

I found Belafonte as the crime boss, though also not particularly realistic, to be an enjoyable, attention-grabbing acting job.

There are a few moments toward the end especially when Leigh is more emotionally vulnerable, talks about her love of her husband, talks about the child she gave up for adoption, where I felt more and the movie drew me in a bit.  There’s no indication the husband is any great shakes, but it is one of those cases where the love itself is impressive and worthy of respect regardless of whether the object of it is.  And it’s kind of interesting seeing Richardson recognize that too, and silently compare it to her own loveless marriage.

So there are worthwhile things about this movie, but overall I’d assess it as below average.

Terrific music though.

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