Thursday, February 12, 2015

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)


From the first strains of Leonard Cohen's song over the opening credits, you know that the characters in this story are doomed. A sense of fatalism permeates every grained-out frame of this film. But the hopeless love found in Cohen songs is only one level to this dirge of a film. On top of that lies an equally tragic tale about Capitalism and the American Dream. Because try as we might to make our fortunes and build something from nothing, we are merely playing at Capitalism. When the real guys come to town, it's all over. You might get in a few good shots here and there, but they will get you when all is said and done. And it won't end with a bang, but with a whimper.

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