Content warning: This film contains depictions of attempted sexual assault and plenty of "period-specific" racism. Heavy on the air quotes. For all his cowboy pageantry and vague machismo, John McCabe is just a sad, insecure man (and not the kind who's rewarded for it, either). In Robert Altman's "anti-Western" MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, he's a wingless frog who keeps bumping his ass, flailing to escape the gravity of society, capitalism, and emotional vulnerability he's evaded his whole life. He's foiled by the incredibly competent Constance Miller, who deals with the same pressures like a well-adjusted adult: through companionship, self-expression, determination, and drug use. In this episode, we pore over the film's depiction of place, violence, performance, and what the hell it means to be an "anti-Western." Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.
