3 Women

Two women working at a spa in the California desert: Millie, who talks constantly and narrates herself, and Pinky, the newcomer who starts imitating her. A third woman, the pregnant Willie, who paints strange figures on walls, stands by as a silent witness. After an accident the identities begin to swap. Robert Altman directed. The idea came from a dream. Keeping an anxious vigil at a hospital, he dreamed a desert story about identity theft starring Duvall and Spacek, woke in the middle to write notes, then went back to sleep for more details. Instead of a full screenplay he worked with the writer Patricia Resnick on a fifty-page treatment, naming Ingmar Bergman's Persona as his reference. Filming took place in Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs. Duvall and Spacek improvised extensively, and Duvall wrote her character's recipes and diary entries herself. An accident made it into the film too: Duvall's skirt caught in a car door pleased Altman so much that he had it repeated deliberately in several scenes. Roger Ebert gave it four stars and described the first half as a funny, satirical and sometimes sad study. Duvall won Best Actress at Cannes. It was not a commercial success. Its standing rose over the years and the Criterion Collection released it on DVD in 2004. Who it is for: viewers curious about where Bergman and Altman meet, and anyone who likes strange films about identity. Who it is not for: anyone wanting explanation. The third act runs on dream logic and nothing is said.