Further Companionship

Everyone likes consensus. So let me link toned arms with Matt regarding A Prairie Home Companion. Let us praise its generosity to it's performers and to its audience - allowing Kevin Kline to perform the fool with wit and pratfall, letting Maya Rudolph form a complete character through the chewing of gum - and constantly exhibiting the motherly instinct her forthcoming child will benefit from. And what of Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin? The hearts and souls of the film, singing warm harmonies that crack and pop with age. And my goodness how strong in his non-presence Garrison Keillor is, wobbling like a mother hen with his flock, never judging and never revealing anything of within - he's an utter enigma, a pure storyteller who believes to unmask the teller would taint the purity of the tale. Amidst it all is the strong performance of Lindsay Lohan, her disconsolate youth showing surprising amounts of emotional complexity. She radiates the glow of Streep and Tomlin - soaking up reams of knowledge in each scene she plays with them.

Matt discussed the liquid tracking shots and its elegiac tone - but it is the sweetest elegy one could ever come across - never expressing bitterness or resentment, because these folks are wise. They just plan the next show, wherever it might be. See it and smile.