The BBC reporter, Opal, whose “Received Pronunciation” is the most dissonant sound to come out of Robert Altman’s epic musing on America, Nashville, is the character who seems to dismay most members of the audience, but I have a particular affection for her. Growing up with listening to BBC Radio Four and BBC one, I am more familiar than most with that particular type of reporter and personality. While definitely not the spitting image of the late BBC reporter Jill Dando who was tragically shot dead in 1999, Opal does evoke that same sense of journalistic justice that Dando did at the height of her career as the presenter of Crimewatch. Indeed, it says much about Altman’s genius that in a film dedicated to examining the soul of America, he managed to create character in Opal who accurately resembles a quintessentially British institution. I have heard, both in class and in Roger Ebert’s review of Nashville, that because of Opal’s lack of visible credentials and camera crew, she is an “imposter,” a charlatan. However, the very fact that her character resonated so well with a half British citizen (me) illustrates her authenticity and legitimacy.
    As many others have observed, this film is about the characters more than the plot. By examining these characters with such commitment, Altman creates a width of narrative rather than the more normative length of narrative. What I mean by this is that unlike Robert Lee Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump, which examines the American soul primarily through one character, Forrest, in chronological narrative that spans decades, Altman dismisses ‘time’ and ‘chronology’ in Nashville and creates a community and a country that feels authentic. The result is a film that leaves you shaking and stirred.  The state, character, and history of United of America are brought to their collective knees, but don’t worry Altman loves these characters and this country and so can we.