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A Prairie Home Companion

Who wouldn’t want a companion for those long cold prairie nights? This movie is akin to the experience of snuggling up to a radio with hot cocoa listening to country music as you watch the snow fall quietly. "A Prairie Home Companion" is a subtle mix of comedy and tragedy as its characters struggle with life and death in the span of a night. This film has the always delicate touch of director Robert Altman. His episodic forays into the nuances of the human condition provide profound cinema. He is also one who knows how to get the best performances out of his actors. With a star studded cast such as this one, his task must have been easy.

From the celebrated radio show by Garrison Keillor comes this comedy about love, life, radio and middle America. It is the last night of the radio show and everyone is getting ready for their final performance. More colorful than the characters on stage are the characters behind the stage, including two singing sisters played by Meryl Streep and Lilly Tomlin, as well as two off-color cowboys played by Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly. Keillor plays himself, the host and veritable ring master for the show that likes to keep emotionally distant. Kevin Kline rounds out the cast with his comedic skill as detective Guy Noir who encounters a mysterious woman in a trench coat, played by Virginia Madsen, that is walking around backstage.

The quirky personalities make for great laughs and charm even when they are dealing with tragedy. The great thing about these characters is how they go on living and smiling in spite of what life throws at them. Another layer to this film is the music that is dispersed throughout, which adds humor or highlights the personal sadness or elation of the characters. Altman knows how to use music to underscore an emotion without explaining it away with dialog. The major events occur in the music that is performed and what this music means in the life of the singer, such as when GK and Streep sing a heart wrenching duet that shows what Streep’s character feels and what Keillor apparently can not. This film pulls from so many elements; however, it doesn’t seem forced or convoluted. "A Prairie Home Companion" is like the slow feeling of being warmed when coming in from the cold.

Written by: Marguerite Spellman

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