5 Reviews: Husbands, The Mirror and more!
sex, lies and videotape (1989)
9.2/10
Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature from 1989 revolutionized the independent film movement making way for 1990's low-budget American film to flourish. It also won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes film festival. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the film is that it still feels as fresh today as it must have over 20 years ago. All of the performances feature actors at the top of their game with Andie McDowell and especially James Spader (who also took home the Best Actor Cannes prize playing against type) giving their best performances. The editing is incredible, condensing the different information we learn visually and audibly in a more effective manner. The characters are all really well fleshed out as well as their relationships. It manages to be about sex without showing any yet still maintaining the frankness any graphic sex would have achieved through its dialogue. The film uses a style that is more on the minimalist side of things with little music and a slow steady flow with only four major characters. It delves into the relationships between husband and wife, men and women, sisters’ and more. While Steven Soderbergh has always stuck to his avant-garde tendencies with low-key projects in between the big budget ones, he should be writing a lot more than he does and experimenting with character driven material from his own hand more often. The interactions between everyone are carefully observed. The way he handles the climax of the film is ingenious. Traffic may be the more impressive achievement but this is easily my favorite Soderbergh film.
The Hour of the Wolf (1968)
7.4/10
Not in the top tier of Bergman’s works but still effectively unsettling, The Hour of the Wolf tells the story of an artist whose mind is haunted by figures and his wife who tries to pull him back into sanity. Are the figures real or not? It does not matter. These kinds of questions are not relevant while watching a Bergman film especially his only horror one. What is relevant is the world he creates with these figures. It is one of overwhelming paranoia and discomfort; he conveys the feeling of going insane. This is most successfully done during a sequence when Johan (Max von Sydow) and Alma (Liv Ullman) go to their neighbors for dinner. Another is near the end when Johan is having relations with Veronica Vogler (Ingrid Thulin) and sees that all of the figures in his head are watching him. These are just two incidents of many that exhibit that Johan’s deepest fears. The surrealism he employs here has an effect which predates the achievements of many other filmmakers such as Lynch and Kubrick in their surrealistic exploits. While ultimately a little too distant as it attempts to be deeply personal, The Hour of the Wolf is still a key work within psychological horror.
In the Heat of the Night (1967):
7/10
The central mystery in Norman Jewison’s exploration of racial tension is irrelevant to the importance of this film. While most of its other elements I could take or leave, the central relationship between Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) and Gillespie (Rod Steiger) is still riveting and manages to not be heavy-handed but subtle in its development and progress. Seeing Tibbs push down his anger whilst everyone in the town treats him with anger and violence is wonderfully portrayed by Poitier. On the other hand, seeing Steiger grapple with his morals with Poitier’s arrival is a treat as well. Each has their own complexities to deal with and when they are together, it adds an additional dynamic to the proceedings. Not only does the film hold important historic relevance but the racial issues still hold meaning today. The two lead performances are electric and are the main reason for seeing the film although all of it is well done.
Husbands (1970):
3.5/10
Cassavettes has a lot to say about men, the way they cling to standard forms of masculinity as a rebellion of their voluntary marriage and the various ways they connect with each other and with women, usually through extended humiliation and embarrassment. Unfortunately, while the director has many intriguing things to say about manhood, they are buried within a two and a half hour film that is intent on being redundant, repetitive, lost and obnoxious. Peter Falk, John Cassavettes and Ben Gazzara star as three friends whose common friend has just died. This throws them into an existential funk consisting of drinking, humiliating women and laughing with one another. All three of them are varying degrees of asshole. Even trying to pick one who has any redeeming qualities is a waste of time.
There is a lot to admire here which makes its failure al the more unfortunate. An extended scene near the beginning which lasts about 20 minutes involving a singing contest and the last part of the film which examines each man’s interaction with a women they pick up. Most of the material in between fails to say anything substantial about their plight outside of the fact that they are each desperately lonely and use their lack of identity as an excuse to treat others terribly. This could have been conveyed in half the time. The three actors fill two and a half hours with constant laughter. Husbands tramples on its own potential through its own redundancy and inability to say anything substantial about its three protagonists. Perhaps this was the point but it was not working for me.
The Mirror (1975):
8/10
In The Mirror, Andrei Tarkovsky takes his intimate personal experiences and blends them into a mixer. Out comes his semi autobiographical work which blends times and dreams to create a film filled with moments as one man looks back on his life with regret and almost always with his mother in mind. The film has no plot to speak of and it would take several viewing to even come up with a personal meaning. This is not a film like Inception, in which one tries to figure out what went on during it. Anyone doing this is missing the point. The point is how the individual reacts to it. It brings together human experience in its simplest form devoid of time or place but is made deeply personal. Add to all of this archival footage of important world events to connect the deeply personal to the universal and you have one complicated work. People not used to art-house films of this nature are likely to not get much from this. Opening up to it though is a rewarding experience. The beautiful black and white imagery in addition to the powerful presence of Margarita Terakhova adds up to a hypnotic experience that will take several viewing to truly get a handle on.
Screen Adventure
Cassavetes films present a whole new different way for you to process the experiences he offers - it's a good idea to slowly be inducted into appreciating his films, starting with the relatively simpler films and then progressing on to the more complex ones.
Click here to read my review of Husbands - I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on my review for it - as it really did alot for me.
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Incredible review ShaunK! The quote above in particular I find to be perfectly accurate. Everything you say is true. I see what he was going for and I definitely admire him for sticking to the edit he wanted. This is my third Cassavetes film though, so I was not going into this blind and I was very much aware to what this experience was likely going to be like. I also happen to absolutely love the other two of his I've seen.
I think parts of it worked. The singing contest scene and the last third were, for me, the most simultaneously frustrating but rewarding parts of the film. It was hard to score it because I think I had the reaction the director wanted me to have. I just had no desire to see these guys pull themselves out of their funk. I did not care about any of them. Maybe that is what he wanted though.
Everyone is really split on this one with some claiming it to be his best work and many others seeing it as a failure, Roger Ebert among them. My scores are based on a combination of how much I personally enjoyed it and how good I think it was. If I was judging it more objectively I would probably give it a 7. I love being frustrated with characters and having protagonists that challenge our ability to sympathize or relate but I needed something else from this film which it did not give me. Again, it was hard to score. My score is probably wrong. I just think his style worked more successfully with the other films of his I have seen.
I am glad you got a lot more out of it though. Like I said, I agree with everything you said and I think your review was fantastic. I just did not think he had a ton to say with it outside of throwing us in with 3 miserable guys for two and half hours so we could experience life with them. Oh well! I have yet to see Faces so I am most excited for that one from the ones I still have to see. What do you think of his other films?
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I intend on doing a revamp on these reviews soon, reposting them and completing the series.
I've seen the Ebert review, and while he has some valid points I clearly dont agree with him.
Incidentally, his films were almost never improvised at all, he wrote scripts that were strictly adhered to. The thing about people saying they were improvised came out of his writing being so different to every other film at the time and much looser and it also connects in with a fib cassavetes told the media when he released Shadows, with it's ending title card claiming it was improvised. The performances are testament to what an incredible actors director he was.
What I think of his other films?
Shadows - Brilliant, his first film and a must see
Faces - his masterpiece and potentially as frustrating as Husbands. Actor, Seymour Cassel is a revelation
Too Late Blues - flawed as all hell, his first hollywood film, but with very good acting from Bobby Darin and Stella Stevens
A Child is waiting - Another Hollywood film and problematic but pretty good overall, Judy Garlands best acting ever.
Husbands - very exciting to watch the characters but more just like having to watch raw footage and make of it what you will.
Minnie and Moskowitz - a fiery and twisted romantic comedy. Very good with some unusually memorable scenes.
A Woman under the influence - Beautiful and devestating - his other masterpiece. Gena Rowlands is unbelievably powerful and effecting in this.
The Killing Of a Chinese Bookie - I liked it but I didnt love it, Cassavetes most interesting and challenging film
Opening Night - Brilliant film making but I tend to find it a bit dry. An interesting departure for Cassavetes in terms of style
Gloria - I dont like it, the final of his 3 hollywood movies - oddly enough - Wong Kar Wai's favorite film
Love Streams - absolutely beautiful - a masterpiece his final farewell to us. Also a strangely suppressed and quiet film for him.
all of Cassavetes films inspired a new sub-genre as well.
I'll let you know when I'm redoing the series - hope you can tune in!
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I wasn't as enamored with Sex Lies in relation to the Directors other work, but it is still a quality piece. For me The Limey is Soderberg's masterpiece followed closely by Out Of Sight. Schizopolis also ranks highly. King of the Hill is criminally ignored. I am going to check out The Girlfriend Experience soon too.
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The Limey rocks though.
And I love The Underneath.
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