California Split

Directed by Robert Altman, California Split follows George Segal’s Bill as he meets and befriends an experienced gambler named Charlie (Elliott Gould) – with the movie subsequently detailing the characters’ (sporadically perilous) gambling-related exploits. There’s little doubt that California Split improves considerably as it progresses, as the picture, which admittedly kicks off with a striking opening-credits sequence, suffers from a first half that’s often too freewheeling and meandering for its own good – with Altman, working from Joseph Walsh’s screenplay, emphasizing the protagonists’ unreasonably goofy, off-the-wall antics to a degree that is, for the most part, distressingly oppressive. (It’s difficult, for example, to see the value in a scene wherein Bill and Charlie pose as police officers to frighten a transvestite.) It’s clear, then, that the film’s transformation from self-indulgent mess to compelling drama is triggered by the heroes’ trip to Reno, as this stretch, and the bulk of what follows, boasts an engaging and periodically electrifying feel that proves impossible to resist. (This is particularly true of Bill’s absorbing stint at a high-stakes poker table.) By the time the impressively (and unexpectedly) melancholy finale rolls around, California Split has undoubtedly cemented its place as a distressingly erratic endeavor that nevertheless boasts its fair share of captivating, spellbinding elements.

*** out of ****