3 Women

Snubbed: Shelley Duvall 

Dir. Robert Altman. 1977, U.S. 124 mins. DCP. With Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule. Altman’s dreamlike study of down-and-out women existing in a liminal state between reality and fantasy in a tiny California town shows the filmmaker at the summit of his powers as both surreal image-maker and humane storyteller. After having worked with the great Shelley Duvall throughout the decade, from McCabe & Mrs. Miller to Thieves Like Us to Nashville, Altman gifted her a role of astonishing depth and pathos in Millie, a gabby, self-involved health spa worker whose life intersects with—and inexplicably refracts—that of a mysterious new coworker named Pinky, played by the brilliantly mercurial Spacek. Altman’s oneiric vision, inspired by a dream (and reminiscent of Bergman’s Persona in its depiction of women’s lives doubling and taking on one another’s traits), is a singular mix of otherworldly and earthy thanks to the intensely grounding performances of his stars, especially Duvall, who won Best Actress at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association but was overlooked by the Academy in favor of less naturally eccentric actors. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.