1:15pm Tuesday 9th January 2007
By Paul Revel
ROBERT Altman's final film is a deep dish slice of Americana, suffused with his trademark enchanting touches.
A Prairie Home Companion is a nostalgic, homespun tale but like many of Altman's films, shifting layers create an enigmatic, ethereal atmosphere.
This time the layers are created by blending reality and fiction.
A Prairie home Companion is a real-life long-running radio show.
The film's action takes place at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St Paul, Minnesota, where the show has been broadcast weekly since 1978.
Central to the film is the show's veteran host Garrison Keillor - playing himself, while mingling with the a-list Hollywood cast are the show's real musicians and backstage crew.
Among all this you have security guard Guy Noir (Kevin Kline), who lives in a Raymond Chandler-esque movie in his mind, and a mysterious trench-coated blonde (Virginia Madsen), an angel of death.
The film opens with Noir's hardboiled private eye shtick and a rain-soaked 50s diner, then segues through time-worn country and gospel music, with antiquated sets and broadcast equipment.
Then 90s rocker Kurt Cobain is mentioned, before we see last week's mobile phone and car models.
So although the film takes place in the space of a two-hour broadcast, we are left thoroughly era-disorientated.
While most directors strive to make fiction seem convincingly realistic, Altman seems to take reality and subvert it, creating a fairytale quality.
A strong cast includes engaging, offbeat performances from Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson and Lindsey Lohan.
The pace and tone may well be too gentle and whimsical for some viewers. Though an endearing and finely-crafted film, precious little really happens in 105 minutes, and I was fidgeting by the end.
You may be relieved to know that the story's poignant, melancholy ending is fictional.
A Prairie Home Companion is still going strong and the old theatre is still standing.
Look - you can book tickets at fitzgeraldtheater.publicradio.org should you be passing through Minnesota anytime soon.
More film reviews at newsshopper.co.uk/leisure
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