1974 · comedy · drama
California Split
Directed by Robert Altman1h 48m1974
Carefree single guy Charlie Waters rooms with two lovely prostitutes, Barbara Miller and Susan Peters, and lives to gamble. Along with his glum betting buddy, Bill Denny, Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search of the ever-elusive big payday. While Charlie and Bill have some lucky moments, they also have to contend with serious setbacks that threaten to derail their hedonistic betting binge.
Our read: California Split (1974) reads as a neutral, steady, grounded comedy · drama entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Neutral, steady, measured comedy / drama, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, intimate, measured.
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How California Split feels to watch.
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What watching it is actually like.
“You want Altman's overlapping casino chatter and Gould-Segal gambling highs crashing into numbness.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if gambling addiction themes or mumbly ensemble dialogue will lose your attention.
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