The source novel for this Depression-era tale of lovers on the run
previously inspired Nicholas ('Nick', if you must) Ray's They Live By
Night. Seven years on, it can't help but remind you of Bonnie And Clyde –
but it's gentler and funnier than Arthur Penn's film, with minimal
violence until the close, and the kind of laid back, observational mise
en scene you expect from Altman. Two of his favourite actors, Carradine
and Duvall, are at their most natural and touching. It's sweetly
compassionate, and in that respect a change of pace from the variously
scabrous and sardonic movies he made on either side.
