#9
Husbands
Husbands
1970
Written and Directed by: John Cassavetes
Starring: John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, and Peter Falk
John Cassavetes is the master of cinéma vérité style. Now for those of you who do not speak good French or are not a movie buff, it translates into truthful cinema. Overlooking the somewhat pretentious name of the genre, it is the kind of movie which is shot in a documentary like way. So in a feature film this would include long takes, a great deal of improvisation of dialogue, and characters directly addressing the camera and audience. In this way, the movie just comes off as more realistic and 'truthful'. Husbands is a great example of the use of this style, and is a movie where it is employed to the greatest possible use. In the end it is this technique which makes you identify with the characters and story so much. Just take a look at the opening scene:
It may be just the splicing together of home photos and a killer bass-line but it starts the movie on the right track and sets the mood. From it we learn that here are four typical, suburban husbands doing things that suburban families do on nice summer weekends. Of course this is posing in front of the camera and flexing to impress their wives. Typical of the cinéma vérité style it's simple but effective.
So the movie tells the story of a quartet of friends which has recently become a triforce (don't think that's the right word, but it sounds nice). From the funeral of their friend the three remaining friends Gus (John Cassavetes), Harry (Ben Gazarra) and Archie (Peter Falk) go on a two day bender of drinking, sleeping on subways, playing basketball, and basically talk about where they are in their lives and where they wish they were. From their they have some more mid-life crises talks which leads them to strange places. It's these discussions, largely improvised, that makes you connect with the characters and all of their faults. In one of the best scenes of the movie, the three of them are in a bar judging an impromptu singing contest and not holding back at all:
Congratulations if you made it through that entire clip. It's a long one but you would have been rewarded. It's not the easiest movie to watch at times. The way the three of them hound that one girl for her plasticity is embarrassing to watch. But that's what a Cassavetes movie is like and what makes them special. He has been called one of the pioneers of American independent cinema. He may have been a successful actor in the Hollywood system but his movies were anything but successful. Husbands in particular was panned by American critics upon its release. It's unlikely that Cassavettes would have cared though. In this clip, the ridiculing of that poor singer might have been Cassavetes taking out his grievances on the whole American movie industry. Harry yells at the woman that she is 'terrible', 'un-real' and has 'no passion'. This was at a time that the industry was pumping out love stories starring the likes of Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal too. Husbands is a refreshingly real and honest movie and so deserves to be called one of the most important movies ever made. It's possible that independent cinema wouldn't be the same if it were not for Cassavetes and this movie in particular.
The movie has been criticized severely for only showing the masculine viewpoint and not properly representing women. From that clip we see how they tore apart that one woman. In another scene Harry gets into a violent fight with his wife before all of them take off to London for a weekend of debauchery. This movie even influenced the feminist electro-pop band Le Tigre to write a song entitled 'What's Your Take on Cassavetes'. The way I see it though, Cassavetes is not to blame for this. He is merely trying to show us his idea of a honest picture of male suburban life. Later films of his (especially A Woman Under the Influence) can even be called empowering and a warning to misogynists. The fact is that Husbands, because it's aim is 'truthful' cinema is likely to offend many people. Whenever someone claims they are representing the truth, they are always controversial. The artistic merits of this movie speak for itself though. In the end, the characters are terrible people, but you can't help but connect with them and this is the source of the movies great emotional impact. This film's got feeling.
It may be just the splicing together of home photos and a killer bass-line but it starts the movie on the right track and sets the mood. From it we learn that here are four typical, suburban husbands doing things that suburban families do on nice summer weekends. Of course this is posing in front of the camera and flexing to impress their wives. Typical of the cinéma vérité style it's simple but effective.
So the movie tells the story of a quartet of friends which has recently become a triforce (don't think that's the right word, but it sounds nice). From the funeral of their friend the three remaining friends Gus (John Cassavetes), Harry (Ben Gazarra) and Archie (Peter Falk) go on a two day bender of drinking, sleeping on subways, playing basketball, and basically talk about where they are in their lives and where they wish they were. From their they have some more mid-life crises talks which leads them to strange places. It's these discussions, largely improvised, that makes you connect with the characters and all of their faults. In one of the best scenes of the movie, the three of them are in a bar judging an impromptu singing contest and not holding back at all:
Congratulations if you made it through that entire clip. It's a long one but you would have been rewarded. It's not the easiest movie to watch at times. The way the three of them hound that one girl for her plasticity is embarrassing to watch. But that's what a Cassavetes movie is like and what makes them special. He has been called one of the pioneers of American independent cinema. He may have been a successful actor in the Hollywood system but his movies were anything but successful. Husbands in particular was panned by American critics upon its release. It's unlikely that Cassavettes would have cared though. In this clip, the ridiculing of that poor singer might have been Cassavetes taking out his grievances on the whole American movie industry. Harry yells at the woman that she is 'terrible', 'un-real' and has 'no passion'. This was at a time that the industry was pumping out love stories starring the likes of Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal too. Husbands is a refreshingly real and honest movie and so deserves to be called one of the most important movies ever made. It's possible that independent cinema wouldn't be the same if it were not for Cassavetes and this movie in particular.
The movie has been criticized severely for only showing the masculine viewpoint and not properly representing women. From that clip we see how they tore apart that one woman. In another scene Harry gets into a violent fight with his wife before all of them take off to London for a weekend of debauchery. This movie even influenced the feminist electro-pop band Le Tigre to write a song entitled 'What's Your Take on Cassavetes'. The way I see it though, Cassavetes is not to blame for this. He is merely trying to show us his idea of a honest picture of male suburban life. Later films of his (especially A Woman Under the Influence) can even be called empowering and a warning to misogynists. The fact is that Husbands, because it's aim is 'truthful' cinema is likely to offend many people. Whenever someone claims they are representing the truth, they are always controversial. The artistic merits of this movie speak for itself though. In the end, the characters are terrible people, but you can't help but connect with them and this is the source of the movies great emotional impact. This film's got feeling.
For it's huge contribution to American independent cinema, in my opinion Husbands is the 9th greatest movie of the 1970s.
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