Keith Carradine

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It's hard to imagine 1970's American cinema without Shelley Duvall and Louise Fletcher.

Often unfairly consigned to the middle or back of the Robert Altman catalog, Thieves Like Us is a stellar Depression Era drama that’s low-key, atmospheric and sometimes funny, even if it lacks many of the director’s trademark touches. There’s no ceaseless patter or cross-cutting plots, but the relatively straightforward film is undeniably rich.

T-Dub (Bert Remsen), Chickamaw (John Shuck) and Bowie (Keith Carradine) are a trio of cons who form a Deep South crime spree during the 1930s. The guys might not have any money in the bank, but they don’t mind helping themselves–at the point of a gun–to whatever happens to be lying around in the vault. But these aren’t men with merely crime on their mind–they’re also lovers. The youngest con, Bowie, for instance, finds romance with a strange girl (Shelley Duvall) who chain-smokes cigarettes and inhales Coca-Cola. Just as Bowie considers getting out of a life of crime, he may not have that option. As their infamy grows and the fellows become sloppy, it’s just a matter of time until they’ve made their final withdrawal.

Thieves Like Us manages to be very much a film of it’s time, with great supporting turns by ’70s stalwarts like Duvall and Louise Fletcher, as well as a film with an authentic feel for the era in which it’s set. But like the best of Altman, ultimately, the movie feels timeless, like a wave of ideas and emotions that exists in a realm all its own. (Available from Netflix and other outlets.)

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