Realism in Film -- Altman's vision of a wild and amoral West: "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"

The Western is often the most unrealistic and schematic of film genres in its plot and use of stock characters The film "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," as directed by Robert Altman, shows how this traditional genre of American film also has the potential, within its structure, create a sense of realism. Altman's direction invests the West with a sense of local color, multidimensional characters, and serious moral dilemmas. The muddy setting immediately shows the viewer that he or she will not be witnessing a vision of the American West that is filled with white-hat wearing cowboys shod in gleaming boots -- this is a West where men and women must sweat and toil simply to live.

Altman's photography avoids wide, panoramic shots of the main protagonists and instead focuses on close-ups of their unadorned...
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