Robert Altman @100: "Short Cuts" The Actresses
Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 3:00PM part 2 of a piece on Short Cuts (1993) to relaunch our Robert Altman tribute. (or start with part 1 if you missed it)
Julianne Moore & Anne Archer in "Short Cuts"
by Eric Blume
Inspired by Juan Carlos’ very fun and smart examination of the actresses in Nashville, I thought it might be fun to do the same for the many actresses in Short Cuts. Here’s a report of my favorites from least to most…with the caveat that even the “least” are beautifully played by these super talented ladies.
10 Lili Taylor as Honey Bush
Taylor has possibly the least to do of any of the actresses, but it was joyful to see her again and be reminded of that fresh, weird, thrilling energy she brought to cinema in the 1990s. Hollywood never figured out what to do with her, even though she’s worked continuously. Here she’s yearning and touching, and she and Robert Downey Jr (before he got so self-conscious) find a quirky comic spark...
09 Frances McDormand as Betty Weathers
McDormand’s storyline is the least impactful of the many running pieces in the film, and she too doesn’t have a lot to flesh out, but you still get a full human. McDormand gives you clues that Betty has been trying to get out of a bad economic situation her whole life. Her attempt with husband Peter Gallagher (who really should have worked more in film) didn’t work out, and she is moving on fast. The way she throws her young son around like a piece of luggage is painful and truthful.
07-08 Annie Ross and Lori Singer as Tess and Zoe Trainer
The famous jazz singer and the famous “Fame” alum play woefully disconnected mother and daughter musicians. They never come together in their scenes, purposefully, dodging around each other like empty ships. And they are such wonderful polar opposites (Ross so tough and cynical, Singer so ethereal and hopeful) that you feel dread for them at all moments.
06 Julianne Moore as Marian Wyman
Moore later did better work for Altman (see Cookie’s Fortune), but here she is alarmingly game, including the now-famous scene where she argues with husband Matthew Modine in full Paddington costuming…no pants! Moore’s willingness to go for that scene, which would one hundred percent happen within many marriages at home yet you never see that sort of thing onscreen, was an early glimpse of her daring which would manifest itself for us many times over in the 30 years to come.
05 Andie MacDowell as Anne Finnegan
Margaret Qualley’s mom does some of her finest screen work in this picture. She’s tender and moving as the mom whose son is struck by a car driven by Lily Tomlin’s character. Still, something feels slightly off about her scenes, in a way that works for the movie, but what’s she’s doing doesn’t fully come together. She gives her scenes power, though, and she’s very affecting.
04 Lily Tomlin as Doreen Piggot
Tomlin delivers one of her don’t-take-them-for-granted, specific performances as a waitress who is hopeful despite being dealt a series of bad hands. She’s funny and fresh as always, and her work with Tom Waits is absolutely wonderful. She’s the decent, moral core of the film, and Tomlin plays that without a hint of piety or righteousness.
03 Madeleine Stowe as Sherri Shepard
The last three actresses are probably interchangeable in terms of how great they are in this film. Stowe invests her character with a seen-it-all weariness and a frank approach to life. She’s the center of the family, has her life fully prioritized, and has consciously decided to wait out philandering husband Tim Robbins’ latest affair. Stowe is inventively funny throughout, plus divinely sexy, and just the rightest amount of sad. Her scenes with Moore (her sister) are all fantastic…they share a private sort of telepathy.
02 Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lois Kaiser
Ah, Jennifer. I tear up when I think of the number of amazing performances she gave us in the 1990s, and this is one of them. She’s deeply detailed here: overworked, bored, frustrated at her situation, also happy with her situation, sweet in her marriage to the point where she can’t see its broiling erosion. She makes sure to include a couple of bits where it’s clear how much she loves her kids, and her phone sex conversations are the comic highlight of the film. She’s tough and vulnerable without playing tough and vulnerable. Just lovely stuff.
01 Anne Archer as Claire Kane
Archer was the big takeaway for me this viewing. She has what might be the single best scene, when her screen husband Fred Ward tells her that he left a dead girl’s body in the river and kept fishing. Archer plays it so simply, so honestly that she’s marvelously moving. There’s an ache under her scenes, a kind of lostness as you feel her slow unraveling from Ward. Their marriage had seemed so full and equal, but you feel the moral weight of whether she can stay or if she must go. It’s part of the tense pull that Altman wants us to feel in a movie about making decisions that define who we are.
What are your thoughts about the performances in Short Cuts?
The men do terrific work throughout as well, with a wounded Tom Waits, overblown Tim Robbins, and sexy Fred Ward my personal favorites. Let us know your thoughts below…
Reader Comments (5)
I'm all about Julianne Moore and, specially, Lily Tomlin in this film.
Barely can remember Archer.
Love all these performances but my favorite is Madeleine Stowe; such an under appreciated actress.
Still remember her laugh in this movie.
I basically agree with the top 3 - all different registers, all so precise.
I know the scene with Ward is the highlight for Archer, but I love her scene with Tim Robbins, her scene at the funeral, and her scenes with the other couple ("we'll just erase your face").
I'm not mad to see Lili at the bottom - all these women are great, but something i admire about her performance is the calibration she levels against the energies of Downey, JJL and Tomlin. She shrinks, but she also has a certain power over each that is acknowledged.
Altman is always admired for his work with actors - and i think Short Cuts is his peak there.
I would rank them like so
1. Madeleine Stowe -- think she deserved an Oscar nomination (the only person I'd nominate from this film) and I love her in general, in practically everything she did in the 1990s. She's definitely that era's actress I miss the most in terms of those who just kind of vanished.
2. Anne Archer - i also think she's marvelous in this.That scene you mention with Fred ward really is amazing.
3. Andie MacDowell - In general I feel people have underappreciated her gifts. There's something about her that can lean wooden or stiff (which always gets you a rep as a bad actor) but that really works for this character and when she's on she can be really special. This is probably my second favourite of her performances.
4. Jennifer Jason Leigh - i get what she's doing here and why people would rank her highly but I am somewhat allergic to her in general... which is sad for me since so many people rate her so highly as a performer
5. Lily Tomlin - I * always* wish she would make more movies.
6. Julianne Moore - love her in that clown wig but in general I think she's overrated in this film (in particular) and SO much better in other things immediately afterwards.VANYA and SAFE are right after this and it's kind of like instant fully formed genius. Maybe Altman helped unlock something in her? She's not bad in it at all but I think Stowe totally outshines her in their scenes together.
7. Frances McDormand - always so watchable.
8/9 Annie Ross & Lori Singer - I remember not being sold but I wonder if I'd feel differently now?
10. Lili Taylor - i dont remember her performance! but your pieces make me think I should watch this again.
I'm really shocked at the lack of Moore love,I assumed she'd be Top 2 for everyone and she along with Stowe was singled out in reviews and awards love most.
i'd rank them like this but 'id need a rewatch for it to be definitive
10 JJL - i'm being mean but I just never connect with her as an actress,theat voice is not for movies,when people say she's genius in Georgia i think she's downright awful and spoils the whole film.
9 Lili not lots to do but she was like Parker Posey the 90's Indie Queen.
7 and 8 Ross/Singer nice dynamic close but far apart at the same time,never connecting.
6 Frances brings humour to a very slight role,another actress i'm only slightly fond of
5 Lily not as hung up on this as most but she's always great to watch
4 Archer her scenes are some of the best,lately i'm beginning to think she had lots more to offer Hollywood.
3 Stowe as good as she ever was and along with Jeanne Tripplehorn and Penelope Ann Miller was the de riguer supporting/leading actress of the 90's
2 Mac Dowell uneven as an actress but I do love the cake shop cake scene.
1 I'd noticed her the year before in her iconic Marlene Craven performance and then in that summer's The Fugitive and was hooked on her and then she gave me this in which I think unlike a lot of you the only Oscar worthy performance and i've been a fan ever since.