A 1996 movie by
Robert Altman, starring
Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Miranda Richardson and
Harry Belafonte, among others.
When her husband is abducted and held by the mob, Blondie O'Hara (Jason Leigh) kidnaps the drug addicted, lethargic and depressed wife of a local politician (Richardson) to use her as a bargaining card for his release. As the name implies, these events take place against the backdrop of Kansas City of the 1930's.
The movie is entirely jazz-scored and the music is expertly used to help manipulate the mood of the viewer - not unitil the very end can one make up one's mind if the ending is going to be happy or not. Altman manages to draw you into the reality of this young woman, crazed with love, almost unstable, frantic for her husband's safety, and take you through the mercurial range of conflicting emotions, from hope to despair and back again. An axcellent movie.