Love and Menace

A few words as to the function of this blog.  My regular blog is Thrill Me!, but I’ve decided to use this one as a place where I can talk about non-horror movies and non-movies, and where I can post random images that I wouldn’t post on the other blog. However, depending on my mood, this site could very well turn into my regular blog — I haven’t been watching a lot of horror films lately.

I’m on a severe John Cassavetes kick right now, and I haven’t been able to think of much else but his movies for the past week or so, while sporadically reading Cassavetes Directs and Cassavetes on Cassavetes.  I don’t love all of his movies, or even most of them.  In my eyes, he made four true masterpieces:  Gloria, Opening Night, Love Streams, and A Woman Under the Influence.  All of these feature Gena Rowlands in starring roles, and since she is now my favorite actress, it’s fitting that these are my favorites.

As a filmmaker, Cassavetes is endlessly fascinating although I definitely do not agree with a lot of his theories on what film should be.  However, all of his films have at least one scene that truly speaks to me, and I think that’s really what he was looking for in cinema.  I just watched Husbands for the first time, and though it’s not a favorite, I liked a good deal of the film.  Two scenes in particular stand out to me.  In the first one, John Cassavetes, Peter Falk, and Ben Gazzara are in a restaurant, gathered around a table with some friends and/or strangers.  They are having a singing contest, and are being judged by the three men.  One lady begins singing a song, but is told by Gazzara that her singing is terrible.  The men make her sing the song over and over again, and because she fails to sing it to their satisfaction, they berate her and tell her exactly why her singing is bad.  The lady pretends to be interested in their criticisms, attempting to hide the fact that she’s extremely hurt by their words, and you can see the hurt in her eyes.  It’s an extremely powerful moment, and my eyes were glued to the screen.  Throughout this scene, I felt as if I were at the table with them, reacting to what was going on (and, in fact, one shot is framed in such a way that it appears a place has been made at the table for the audience).  It’s one of the most memorable scenes in any Cassavetes film, and it’s a shame that the entire film doesn’t live up to its promise.

The second scene that interested me, and it’s my favorite scene in the film, is when the three men are in a casino in London and they’re trying to find women to take back to their hotel.  Peter Falk goes up to a lady and propositions her while her back is turned — only to find when she turns around that she’s actually an old lady.  In fact, she’s a rich old lady who’s very interested in his offer.  She grabs his hand and won’t let go.  “You want girls?  I can give you girls,” she offers with increasingly lusty interest.  When he says no, she asks, “Do you want boys?  I can give you boys.”  Again, he says no and tries to break away.  Her mouth contorts in a bizarre fashion as he speaks to her, and it’s really extraordinary.  Certainly, this is one of the single greatest scenes in the history of movies.

I may rewatch Love Streams next.  His films are so complicated and filled with such great, small details that you can watch them over and over again and see something new every time.