3 WomenWords like "identity theft" conjure up images of someone taking control of your finances and stealing your credit. But what if identity theft was more literal, that someone could actually take possession of your very persona, discarding their own in favor of a personality that fit them better? 3 Women deals principally with the unusual friendship between Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall) and Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek), two young women in California working in a health spa for the elderly, who bond over similar interests and eventually become roommates. But after Pinky has an accident, things for this odd couple get a lot odder.
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Millie and Pinky are actually fairly different from one another at the onset, with Millie almost constantly running her mouth, and the mousy Pinky having difficulty getting situated at her new job or with people in general. Millie is a bit shameless with her flirting, and is incapable of being deterred, even when guys flat out ignore her. This "trying too hard" tack emphasizes that Millie is, in fact, lonely, just as Pinky is; but when Pinky takes up Millie's invitation for a roommate, they find they both have something to contribute to one another. Pinky sees an idol in Millie, someone who is just perfect in her mind--"thoroughly modern"--compared to her own social ineptitude and naivete. On the other hand, with Pinky, Millie gets an audience for her talking, and also someone she can boss around a bit instead of being the one bossed around. Pinky and Millie have a bit more in common--they both come from Texas originally, and Pinky indicates that her first name is also Mildred, one which she claims she doesn't like. Maybe it is the "hero worship" of Millie which pushes Pinky to start taking after Millie in terms of behavior et al, but there are somethings Pinky does which go beyond simple admiration...like reading Millie's diary and, well, stealing her social security number. True, this last nugget might have been an accident, but it, like many other things, suggests that Pinky has become so obsessed with Millie, that she wants to be Millie, and these minor details make that fantasy closer to reality. There is a theme of duality running through the film, like the twins at the spa. Pinky comments to Millie about the twins, wondering what it must be like, and if they ever get confused about who's who. Also--after Pinky's accident, if it was an accident--both Millie and Willie (Janice Rule), the pregnant proprietor of "Dodge City", a bar Millie frequents and also a quiet painter of exotic murals, stare into the glass of the ICU where Pinky is being monitored, their reflections casting a double, as though their own personalities were multiplied and refracted like light.
Once Pinky emerges from her coma, she begins to forget who she is, having adopted the manner of an arrogant and reckless young woman, a complete one-eighty from her previous personality, her own interpretation and impression of Millie, as she struggles to cope with a trauma leaving her with partial amnesia. Prior to Pinky's time in the hospital, she and Millie were planning a dinner party for Millie's former roommate. When things go sour, Millie blames Pinky and storms out, which is unfair, but easier for Millie than taking a hard look in the mirror to see what a fool she has been in begging for affection from the wrong people. Maybe it's some kind of subconscious revenge, but Pinky's impersonation of Millie is even more selfish and mean than the real thing, turning the tables on the audience; suddenly, we want to sympathize more with Millie than Pinky. After the transformative experience, Millie has changed her attitude a bit, no longer as enthused about hounding interns at the hospital, even turning down an invitation for breakfast when she is waiting for Pinky to recover. Even stranger about Pinky is when her "parents" show up; her mom indicates that her dad had named Pinky; but if Pinky is to be believed, why did Pinky say that she chose that name for herself as a substitute for Mildred? Is Pinky intentionally lying about who she is--if so, to what end? To insinuate herself into Millie's life? Probably not, but it might be possible that this kind of personality fluidity is more than just for deception--maybe it embodies a real need for Pinky, as well as Millie, and even Willie. Pinky recollects her "past life" after a haunting dream, where she seems to return to her previous persona, although the intrusion of Willie's drunken husband, Edgar (Robert Fortier)--who mentions that his wife is giving birth with no one to help her--spurs Millie and Pinky to aid the lonesome woman in delivering her child. And yet, shortly after the harrowing birth, we find our three women at the Dodge City bar, but something has changed. For instance, Pinky calls Millie "mom", and Willie appears even older, perhaps a grandmother. Was the entirety of the movie a dream, or is it that the tide of consciousness has crashed its waves over the shores yet again, and the three have adopted almost entirely new personalities, as easy as other change their socks. It might just be--if nothing else--that the change was one which was mutually agreed upon, because sometimes, the lie is prettier than the truth.
Recommended for: Fans of an unorthodox psychological drama, with an interesting premise about how someone could steal your personality. I've always found it funny that the names of Millie, Willie, and Pinky sound like they're one short of a set of Pac-Man ghosts.
Once Pinky emerges from her coma, she begins to forget who she is, having adopted the manner of an arrogant and reckless young woman, a complete one-eighty from her previous personality, her own interpretation and impression of Millie, as she struggles to cope with a trauma leaving her with partial amnesia. Prior to Pinky's time in the hospital, she and Millie were planning a dinner party for Millie's former roommate. When things go sour, Millie blames Pinky and storms out, which is unfair, but easier for Millie than taking a hard look in the mirror to see what a fool she has been in begging for affection from the wrong people. Maybe it's some kind of subconscious revenge, but Pinky's impersonation of Millie is even more selfish and mean than the real thing, turning the tables on the audience; suddenly, we want to sympathize more with Millie than Pinky. After the transformative experience, Millie has changed her attitude a bit, no longer as enthused about hounding interns at the hospital, even turning down an invitation for breakfast when she is waiting for Pinky to recover. Even stranger about Pinky is when her "parents" show up; her mom indicates that her dad had named Pinky; but if Pinky is to be believed, why did Pinky say that she chose that name for herself as a substitute for Mildred? Is Pinky intentionally lying about who she is--if so, to what end? To insinuate herself into Millie's life? Probably not, but it might be possible that this kind of personality fluidity is more than just for deception--maybe it embodies a real need for Pinky, as well as Millie, and even Willie. Pinky recollects her "past life" after a haunting dream, where she seems to return to her previous persona, although the intrusion of Willie's drunken husband, Edgar (Robert Fortier)--who mentions that his wife is giving birth with no one to help her--spurs Millie and Pinky to aid the lonesome woman in delivering her child. And yet, shortly after the harrowing birth, we find our three women at the Dodge City bar, but something has changed. For instance, Pinky calls Millie "mom", and Willie appears even older, perhaps a grandmother. Was the entirety of the movie a dream, or is it that the tide of consciousness has crashed its waves over the shores yet again, and the three have adopted almost entirely new personalities, as easy as other change their socks. It might just be--if nothing else--that the change was one which was mutually agreed upon, because sometimes, the lie is prettier than the truth.
Recommended for: Fans of an unorthodox psychological drama, with an interesting premise about how someone could steal your personality. I've always found it funny that the names of Millie, Willie, and Pinky sound like they're one short of a set of Pac-Man ghosts.