Welcome to LA

In retrospect, more an intriguing taste of things to come than a throwback to the free-form, large-scale interactions of Nashville (on which Rudolph served time as Altman's assistant). Here, in his debut, the precise La Ronde-style choreography of its nine principal characters - assorted inhabitants of LA, all connected somehow or another with self-centred rock-writer Carradine's sexual one-night stands - tends to prefigure Choose Me in its elegance, dry wit, and flawless visual sense. Sadly, however, it lacks both the inspirational spontaneity of his producer and mentor Altman's best work, and the warmth of his own later films, since many of the characters are so bloody unsympathetic. That said, it's finely performed and well worth seeing.