Kansas City

Directed by ROBERT ALTMAN

Starring JENNIFER JASON LEIGH MIRANDA RICHARDSON HARRY BELAFONTE

1996

Released 2 MARCH

Blu-ray

We do not treasure the singular talent of actor Jennifer Jason Leigh takes its good sweet time to lay out its stall, though it’s quite clear from the opening frames that Leigh has gone all-in and more for her role as the motor-mouthed moll who can’t stop gabbing through a pair of crooked, rotting teeth. The story takes place in 1934 across a flagrantly corrupt election day, in which transients are bussed in under the gun to vote early and vote often. Harry Belafonte’s sage-like jazz club owner Seldom Seen has taken Dermot Mulroney’s Johnny prisoner for attempting to rob a bundle of cash from a colleague. Leigh’s Blondie then takes Miranda Richardson’s society dame and druggie Carolyn Stilton hostage, in the hope that her husband Henry (Michael Murphy), who is running for office, can square things with Seldom and have Johnny released unharmed.