Outstanding Actors Jazz Up The Screen In ‘Kansas City’
One of the songs from the muchhyped soundtrack of “Kansas City” is “I Left My Baby.” Not only does that song serve as a great vehicle for jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany, the phrase acts as a commentary on the story of the film.
Most of the characters in Robert Altman’s “Kansas City,” in some way or another, leave their “baby,” purposely or accidentally. The soundtrack even further comments on this, closing the film with a version of the jazz standard “Solitude.”
Ignoring for now the outstanding lead performance of Jennifer Jason Leigh, “Kansas City” deserves two Academy Award nominations, for Harry Belafonte and Miranda Richardson. Both are unbelievable but enjoyable exaggerations of their already outrageous characters.
Belafonte, in a rare villainous role, plays gangster Seldom Seen. Seldom is evil in every way imaginable, and seems to delight in killing, especially when doing so in revenge.
When Seldom captures a guy (Dermot Mulroney) who tried to rob a friend of his, the story kicks into first gear. Mulroney’s wife, a sometimes-brunette named Blondie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), is desperate to get him to safety, but pleads with Seldom to no avail.
So she tries a more farfetched approach. Blondie kidnaps the wife of a high-placed government official (Richardson) and threatens to kill her if Mulroney isn’t set free.
To give away any more of the story should be a capital crime, but the movie only gets better, and never slows down.
Jennifer Jason Leigh has perfected the art of playing extremely troubled people. In “Kansas City,” she plays a character strikingly similar to her Sadie Flood in “Georgia.” As she excelled in that film, she excels here.
As I said earlier, Belafonte and Richardson are spectacular. Belafonte, despite his lack of experience for this sort of role, is delightfully demonic, and Richardson tackles the difficult part of a kidnapped person who really doesn’t want to be saved.
I can’t forget to mention the spectacular musicians who provide the backdrop to “Kansas City.” Robert Altman did a commendable job of putting together an all-star group of instrumentalists, and they alone separate this film from lesser period pictures.
Perhaps the one fault of the film, though, is that it is self-indulgent with the music. While much of the action of the film takes place where the bandstand is, the cameras often drift to the horn players for so long one can lose the story of the film.
Even though death is a big part of “Kansas City,” the mood of the film is very cheerful. Director Altman does a superb job of transporting viewers back to a different time. And it’s a very pleasant trip.
Grade: A