Robert Altman was hardly new to theatrical adaptations when he took on Sam Shepard's Fool for Love. A modern-day melodrama with a kinky twist, the 1985 film followed previous projects, like Streamers, that had originated on the stage. Unlike most films set in the Southwest, the Mojave Desert story takes place largely at night, lit by glowing pink neon.
Altman introduces May (Kim Basinger, LA Confidential), a cook at a truck stop motel, preparing for a date when her old flame, Eddie (Shepard, who adapted his play), crashes back into her life. The rodeo rider looks like a Marlboro Man with his cowboy hat and horse trailer.
The bickering begins from the jump. Eddie is clearly jealous, but he's also been away for an unspecified amount of time, so why shouldn't she see other men? Harry Dean Stanton's unnamed old man, who lives in the neighboring trailer park, watches from the motel bar, first with interest, later with alarm. As things escalate, Eddie breaks down a door, throws a glass at the wall, and waves a whip around. There's love here, but there's also hate—and a suggestion of mental instability—though playwright Shepard tends to favor high-strung characters.
Once May's hapless date, Martin (Randy Quaid, The Last Detail), arrives, Eddie recounts their past, possibly to scare him away, but also to explain their volatility. May contributes to the narrative, which Altman illustrates with unreliable flashbacks (the text and imagery don't quite match up). A fifth character, a wealthy woman with whom Eddie once had a fling, arrives intermittently to shoot at the lot of them.
Like Shepard's True West, the central characters rarely stop talking, so the flashbacks to their younger, calmer selves offer a reprieve as much as an explanation. Stanton's character turns out to be something more than just a barfly enjoying the show, but a defining force in both of their lives.
The combination of location and actor brings Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas to mind, except Altman's film doesn't satisfy in the same way. The actors give it their all, but the pieces don't fit together as well as they should, possibly because the play isn't Shepard's strongest work (Pulitzer nomination aside). Characters need not be likable to be interesting, but May and Eddie are particularly off-putting. Altman's other stage-to-screen adaptations have proven more effective, particularly 1984's Secret Honor, a feature-length monologue Philip Baker Hall delivers as Richard Nixon reliving his presidential past.
Fortunately, Kino's Fool for Love Blu-ray looks lovely and comes with a 2004 featurette in which the director explains his disinterest in opening up plays for the screen and praises Ingmar Bergman's Persona, an unlikely influence that shows up towards the end. Disappointing aspects aside, the film isn't a complete misfire, and fans of Altman, Shepard, and Basinger will surely find it of interest. A strong optional selection.