A kidnapping and a robbery move the plot forward in a film that's less about plot than about cultural ambiance. "Kansas City" is mostly a cinematic expression of place and time. It's 1934, when gangsters and jazz ruled and Blacks and Whites went their separate ways.

Visuals are very dark. And though the film is in color, tints are muted, which conveys a nostalgic, sentimental mood. The thin plot takes place largely at night. And the plot alternates with dark interior scenes at the Hey Hey Club, a risqué, all-Black speakeasy where an all-Black band jives free-form jazz, and where illegal gambling fills the back rooms.

None of the characters are sympathetic. But I don't think they're supposed to be. They're archetypes, models of desperate people in desperate times. A gun-wielding gangster's girl named Blondie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) wants to be like Jean Harlow. Mrs. Stilton (Miranda Richardson) is a wealthy, spaced-out politician's wife. Seldom Seen (based on a real-life person and played by Harry Belafonte) is the cigar smoking godfather who rules the dark, smoky Hey Hey Club with an iron fist and who likes to stand around giving lectures to people.

The script's dialogue is mostly subtext, with message directed less at other characters than at viewers. And, as in other Altman films, then-current politics dance around the edges of the seedy story. The overall tone mixes depression with desperation.

For me this is an easy film to judge. The characters and plot I cared for not at all. Jennifer Jason Leigh was painful to watch. And though the jazz is performed with great competence, its free-form, improvisational style is too contemporary to reflect the 1930s. On the other hand, Miranda Richardson gives a fine performance. Attention to detail in costumes, sets, props, and storefront exteriors make the film come alive with era realism. And lighting is absolutely terrific.

If you go into this movie expecting a deep story and well-constructed plot, you'll be disappointed. Absorb the overall texture of the film's visuals. "Kansas City" is a terrific visual portrait of a specific place at a specific time.

One night in 1934, in Kansas City, Blondie O'Hara (Jennifer Jason Lee) kidnaps Carolyn Stilton (Miranda Richardson),the wife of an eminent politician, trying to save her husband Johnny (Dermot Mulroney) from the claws of the gangster Seldon Seen (Harry Belafonte). Many events, as usual in a Robert Altman movie, happen along this night. This movie has a beautiful reconstitution of this period, some jazz songs, but the plot is too short for a running time of 116 minutes. Therefore, there are many parts very boring, or highlight in minor plots. My vote is six.

Returning to the city of his birthplace, Robert Altman directed this tribute to the music and movies of his youth. Blondie O'Hara (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and her low-level hood husband Johnny (Dermot Mulroney) get caught trying to steal from Seldom Seen (Harry Belafonte),a crime boss who works out of The Hey-Hey Club. To escape, she kidnaps socialite Carolyn (Miranda Richardson) and plans on using her political connections to save her husband's life.

This story is based on a real story. In 1933, Mary McElroy, the opium-addicted daughter of Henry McElroy, the city manager of Kansas City, was kidnapped. After the $30,000 ransom was paid, she was released unharmed while her four kidnappers were caught and sentenced to life in prison.

Beyond all that intrigue, a political fixer named Johnny Flynn (Steve Buscemi) is gathering the homeless and drug addicted to swing the outcome of a major vote.

The soundtrack was recorded live and features contemporary musicians playing the roles of jazz musicians from the 1930s. They also appear in the movie, with Craig Handy as Coleman Hawkins, Geri Allen playing Mary Lou Williams and James Carter in the role of Ben Webster.