California Split

It's surprising how little known California Split is but even in a career filled with great movies such as Robert Altman's it deserves more recognition. It is Altman the auteur in top form, his quirks and distinctive traits that separate him from all directors of his time emblazoned over every minute of this delightful mixture of comedy and drama.

It's the handling of the subject matter that makes the difference. Sure this is not the first movie to be made about the compulsiveness of gambling and people trying to find meaning and pleasure in empty addictions but it is such a fresh and enjoyable movie one has to sit down and take notice. What makes it work so well? I'll say the success rests on a combination of three things: the infectious chemistry between the two leads Elliot Gould (in a hilarious role) and George Seagal; the fully realized world Altman creates for his characters; and that overall the movie is capable of both belly-laughs and profound sadness but it is always subtle, never says anything more than it has to, leaving just enough for the viewer to participate. Even the bitter aftertaste of the ending is never expanded more than two or three lines and a look on Seagal and Gould's faces and it's then counterpointed with a spin of the wheel and a sweet jazz song as the end credits begin to roll.

This combination of those three things ultimately achieves the most important and difficult thing for any director to master: to make the camera disappear. This is not the first time Altman succeeds in doing so but California Split is still a very good indication of the craftsman at the top of his talent.

The gambling world here is not the glitzy and glossy Las Vegas of Ocean's 11 or Four of a Kind - not it is for gambling movies what The Long Goodbye was for neo-noir. A look inside a crummy, cheap world without prospects and the rent's running. It makes perfect sense then that the last act takes place in Reno and not Vegas and that the bleachy look of Paul Lohmann's cinematography (no Vilmos Zsigmond this time) reflects that there's no glamour to be had here.

Why California Split remains among the most obscure of Robert Altman's extraordinary 1970s oeuvre is a mystery. Its stars -- Elliot Gould and George Segal -- were at the top of their form, free and comfortable working in Altman's off-the-cuff, low-key style. Its supporting cast -- Ann Prentiss, Gwen Welles and especially Bert Remsen, as the cross-dressing old jane "Helen Brown," -- is memorable. And its full gallery of extras (many drawn from the therapeutic community Synanon) populate a surreal gambling netherworld in California and Nevada. Altman is working in highest gear with the layered, semi-improvised and alluringly murky style he pioneered. As in Altman's best work, the story just sort of happens, without much distinction between foreground and backdrop, principal characters and walk-ons. Lacking the rigid and didactic "dramaturgy" of its competitors, California Split endures as one of the most probing examinations of the soul and psyche of the abnormal gambler ever filmed.

Of all Robert Altman's films, this one is the best, in my mind. Meaning it stood out the most for me and it still feels so fresh after all this time, like most of Altman's films anyway.

Even if you don't care for this director's films, watch it just for the marvelous chemistry between George Segal and Elliott Gould, two outstanding actors, and for those who want to see how real improvisation is done, watch closely how Elliott Gould does it in this movie, I guarantee you've never seen anything like it before or since. I was shaking my head in amazement at such talent, wow!

An enjoyable film, funny as hell, but pitiful, too.

Of their work together, the three films reach the tops of acting, directing and just overall fine filmwork of the latest golden age of American film - MASH, The Long Goodbye and this entirely out of print gem, California Split. I have long wanted to see California Split and my local video store just got in a nice new bootleg that looks good, though it's pan /scan. The opening titles shots (which are in widescreen) and show Gould softly babbling to himself and watching a gambling instructional video are incredible - and it would be amazing to see the whole movie in proper aspect ratio. The interplay between Gould and Segal is - I think - deeper and more compelling than the taken-for-granted war-forced friendship between Gould and Sutherland in MASH. Still, I think almost nothing is better than Gould just by himself, friendless, and constantly disappointed in humanity the way he is in The Long Goodbye. All three are fantastic, and they would make a fine widescreen DVD package, but as usual Altman's best work gets only a fraction of the credit it deserves.

I was fortunate enough to see California Split this past weekend on the big screen. The American Film Institute (AFI) Theater in the Kennedy Center is currently (February '02) having a retrospective of Altman's 70s films, and, while I had never heard of the film, I was mysteriously drawn to it. I'm glad I went. The chemistry between Gould and Segal is amazing. It's is if they've been friends their whole lives. They seemed very relaxed and care-free. The story is sad yet exciting, the dialog witty and almost innocent, and the direction is, of course, great. Plus, there is a brief scene with a very young Jeff Goldblum, who plays Segal's boss.

If you happen upon this film on TV one late night, or it's shown in a theater near you for some reason, please see it. It's a lost treasure.