15 Dec 10
Director: Robert Altman
USA
2006
105 min
The final film by the great Robert Altman, A Prairie Home Companion is the big screen adaption of Garison Keillor’s radio show. The film showcases plenty of the director’s strengths: it’s got a gigantic cast and plenty of quirky acting and dialogue. Much like the radio show Companion features clever jokes, rousing tunes and endearing characters. This is a loving and carefully crafted portrait of an era on the cusp of extinction featuring some fine singing from the main players (Garrison Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Tommy Lee Jones) and poignant observations on the passage of time by someone who retained all his powers as a storyteller of distinction right until the end. It is a worthy swan song from one of the cinema’s best.