3 WOMEN Retrospective

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s PERSONA, Robert Altman’s late ‘70s masterpiece features a beautifully rich color palette that permeates this surrealist fever-dream creation. New-girl-in-town Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek) gets a job working as a nurse in a desert town spa. There, she becomes enamored by fellow nurse Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall, in a 1977 Cannes Best Actress-winning performance), a wannabe sophisticate who prides herself on her knowledge learned from women’s magazines, and tries her best to be liked by everyone. When Millie takes Pinky in as her roommate, Pinky’s infatuation with Millie veers from innocence into something more sinister. Inspired by a real-life dream Altman had, 3 WOMEN expertly balances the complexities of female relationships with the internal struggle of crafting your own identity. – Jenn Murphy