Written, directed, edited, and co-starring John Cassavetes, Husbands is the story of three men who hang out together as they deal with the death of a friend as they’re forced to deal with their own sense of mortality and next step in their lives. The film is a look into the lives of three friends who have all succeeded professionally and personally but deal with the specter of death as they wonder what will happen next when the unexpected happens. Also starring Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, Jenny Runacre, Jenny-Lee Wright, and Noelle Kao. Husbands is a riveting and compelling film from John Cassavetes.
The film follows three men who all deal with the death of their friend as they ponder what to do next as they would try to reclaim elements of their youth amidst a mid-life crisis. It’s a film that play into these three men as they spend much of their time going out and just ask questions about life while they also deal with the state of their own lives professionally and personally. John Cassavetes’ screenplay is loose in terms of its structure as it doesn’t have much of a plot in favor of exploring these three men just doing whatever they can to pass the time whether it’s to go to a bar and drink or go to a gym and play basketball. Much of it has these three men figuring things out as Archie (Peter Falk) is talking about what he’s thinking while Gus (John Cassavetes) is dealing with what is next. Then there’s Harry (Ben Gazzara) who is a businessman with a marriage that is falling apart as he decides to go to London and takes Archie and Gus with him. The first half is largely set in New York City and areas nearby while the second half takes place in London where the three men get drunk, gamble, and meet other women as it would become this key moment of realization over their lost youth.
Cassavetes’ direction is very loose in terms of its presentation where there are no sets used in favor of shooting everything on location whether it’s in New York City and nearby areas as well as London for the film’s second half including a few scenes inside airplanes. While there aren’t anything stylized throughout the film, Cassavetes does maintain a sense of realism as he would shoot long monologues in one take while keeping the settings simple in the way he would frame a shot whether it’s in a close-up, a medium shot, or a wide shot. Though the film’s lack of plot and long takes would meander the film’s pacing where some of these moments go on for too long. Cassavetes would play into the sense of uncertainty these three men endure as well as the women they meet in London where the realization that they’re married and have kids come into play. Cassavetes’ editing is straightforward with a few jump cuts as it help play into the drama including the film’s climax as it relates to the decision of one of the characters and the reaction of the two. Overall, Cassavetes creates a captivating film about three men facing mid-life crises following the death of a longtime friend.
Cinematographer Victor Kemper does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward to play into the film’s realistic presentation. The sound work of James Perdue is terrific for its natural approach to sound to capture everything on location including the music as the only piece used that wasn’t recorded on location is a jazz piece during the film’s opening scenes.
The film’s incredible cast include some notable small roles from Nick and Xan Cassavetes as Gus’ kids, Eleanor Cody Gould as a singer at a bar, Claire Malis as the widow of the men’s dead friend, Meta Shaw Stevens as Harry’s wife, Lorraine MacMartin as Harry’s mother-in-law, Noelle Kao as an Asian woman Archie tries to flirt with in London, Jenny Runacre as Mary Tynan whom Gus tries to sleep with in London only for things to not work out, and Jenny Lee Wright as a Londoner named Pearl whom Harry meets and falls for during his time in London.
John Cassavetes is brilliant as Gus as a man that is lost in his grief as he tries to cope it with through sports and drink as his time in London would give him time to realize that he’s not a young man anymore. Peter Falk is fantastic as Archie as a man that is constantly talking about what he thinks in the wake of their friend’s death as he comes to term with himself and his own realization about his life. Finally, there’s Ben Gazzara in an amazing performance as Harry as a businessman that is dealing with a failing marriage as he is eager to reclaim his youth and lust for life as well as the fact that he is starting to lose sight of reality.
Husbands is a brilliant film from John Cassavetes. Despite its slow and meandering pacing in some parts of the film, it is still a fascinating film that explores three men dealing with loss as well as uncertainty as they reach middle age in their journey to reclaim their youth. In the end, Husbands is an excellent film from John Cassavetes.
John Cassavetes Films: (Shadows) – (Too Late Blues) – (A Child is Waiting) – (Faces) – (Minnie and Moskowitz) – A Woman Under the Influence - (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie) – (Opening Night) – Gloria (1980 film) - Love Streams – (Big Trouble (1986 film))
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the medieval poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, I racconti di Canterbury (The Canterbury Tales) is a film that collects eight different tales that play into the lives of different characters during the time of medieval England. Written for the screen and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, the film is the second film in a trilogy of films relating to the idea of life where Pasolini plays the role of Chaucer who would tell different stories that took place in those times. Starring Hugh Griffith, Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Josephine Chaplin, Jenny Runacre, and John Francis Lane. I racconti di Canterbury is a wild and outrageously-bawdy film from Pier Paolo Pasolini.
The film follows Geoffrey Chaucer who arrives to a land medieval England to write a story as he observes his surroundings leading to him writing eight different stories in a sensationalized manner. Among them involves a nobleman marrying a young woman unaware of her sexual history, a vendor who meets a mysterious summoner over things he saw, a young man making trouble as he finds work, a middle-aged woman trying to find a new husband, a carpenter’s apprentice trying to seduce his master’s wife, two students trying to swindle a grain miller, thieves finding some mysterious treasure while trying to find Death, and a greedy friar gets what he deserves. All of these tales play into some kind of immorality that is looming as well as an exploration of sex in those times where it was free and all about joy rather than people profiting from it.
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s screenplay does take an episodic approach to the narrative where it is straightforward as it begins and ends with Chaucer writing these stories as he would pop up every now and then to come up with what he wants to tell. Notably as Pasolini would provide his own take into Chaucer’s story and provide a context that is quite graphic as it play into some of the things that happened. Even as it showcases some complexities in one of the stories where a vendor would report two things he saw and how one of these crimes is handled as it shows that not much has changed back in medieval times to what is happening in the modern world.
Pasolini’s direction is definitely stylish in the way he portrays medieval England as it is shot on various locations in England including much of its countryside areas. While there are a lot of usage of wide shots for the various locations as well as some gorgeous compositions that play into the scope of the interiors that the characters go into. Much of Pasolini’s compositions rely on intimate moments such as the scenes of Chaucer in his study trying to write something or scenes involving characters in sexual situations. There are close-ups and medium shots for much of the film yet Pasolini is trying to understand what is happening in those times and how he interprets it as it play into those wanting some kind of satisfaction that had been constrained in those times but also moments that are confrontational in a comic manner. Most notably the story about this young man named Perkin (Ninetto Davoli) who is this Charles Chaplin-like figure with a bowler hat and a cane that just causes mischief in his search to find a job and be with women. It’s among these moments that are offbeat as well as the story about the carpenter’s apprentice who would find a way to fool his boss claiming that a Biblical flood is coming. There are also moments that are intense as it relates to a final story with this lavish sequence involving this idea of Hell and it is told with a sense of farcical humor and stark imagery.
The sexual content is definitely racy as it features nudity from both men and women as well as scenes of homosexuality early in the film that play into this idea of sodomy which were quite extreme at the time. Notably in the story about the vendor and summoner who would witness these events that do play into events that are happening in the modern world. The stories do have this exploration of immorality that still had an innocence before the emergence of a more extreme immorality in the form of capitalism where Pasolini doesn’t really say anything about capitalism. Yet, he would show how this emergence would occur and how it would impact certain behaviors that would complicate the world while there are those who would reject this new idea to maintain an idea that was already working. Overall, Pasolini creates a whimsical yet rapturous film about the lives of several people told through the mind of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli does amazing work with the film’s cinematography as it play into the grey-like exteriors of some of the locations with its fog and rain as well as the usage of natural lights for some of its interiors. Editors Enzo Cone and Nino Baragli do excellent work with the editing as it play into some offbeat rhythms for much of the film’s humor as well as in some of the dramatic and darker moments in the film. Art director Dante Ferretti and set decorator Ken Muggleston do brilliant work with the art direction from the look of some of the castle interiors as well as some of the homes and a few of the exterior designs of the castles.
Costume designer Danilo Donati does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of the dresses as well as the clothes of the men including the tights which pay a lot of attention to detail into how their bulges are presented. Sound mixer Gianni D’Amico does nice work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of some of the gatherings as well as the markets and other places involving a large group of people. The film’s music is directed by Ennio Morricone as it play into various music pieces of the time that include woodwinds, folk songs, and other kind of pieces that was prevalent during that period of medieval times.
The film’s superb cast include some notable small roles such as John Francis Lane as a greedy friar, Jenny Runacre as the carpenter’s wife, Robin Askwith as a young thief who enjoys having sex with prostitutes and urinate on other patrons at a pub, Tom Baker as a man being pursued by an aging yet horny married woman, Dan Thomas as the carpenter’s apprentice, J.P. Van Dyne as a cook who hires Perkin much to his own regret, Judy Stewart-Murray as a lady-in-waiting for the Wife of Bath, Albert King as a grain miller, Eileen King as the miller’s wife, Heather Johnson as the miller’s daughter, Patrick Duffet and Eamann Howell as two students needing grain for an assignment, and Pier Paolo Pasolini as Geoffrey Chaucer. Michael Balfor is terrific as the cuckold carpenter who is unaware of the trick he’s being played by his apprentice while Hugh Griffith is fantastic as the nobleman who marries a young woman unaware of her own desires for another man.
Josephine Chaplin is wonderful as the young woman who marries the nobleman as she is in love with another man while Laura Betti is brilliant as the Wife of Bath as a woman who is trying to find another husband as her current husband is dying in the hope for some sexual satisfaction. Ninetto Davoli is excellent as Perkin as this Chaplin-esque figure who is a man of total mischief as well as go after anything as he’s a joy to watch. Finally, there’s Franco Citti as the Devil as a man who pretends to be a vendor who observes a case of sodomy where he goes after a summoner and gives him a choice as it’s a very low-key yet effective performance.
I racconti di Canterbury is a spectacular film from Pier Paolo Pasolini. Featuring a great cast, outlandish sets and costumes, gorgeous photography, and offbeat moments that are playful to grotesque. It’s a film that explore a period in time where it was free but also intense as it also show some elements that are still happening in the modern world. In the end, I racconti di Canterbury is a riveting and extravagant film from Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Pier Paolo Pasolini Films: (Accattone) – (La Rabbia) – Mamma Roma – (Location Hunting in Palestine) – (The Gospel According to Matthew) – (Love Meetings) – (The Hawks and the Sparrows) – The Witches (1967 film)- The Earth Seen from the Moon - (Oedipus Rex) – Teorema – (Porcile) – (Medea (1969 film)) – (Appunti per un film sull’India) – (Notes Towards an African Orestes) – The Decameron - Arabian Nights – Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom
© thevoid99 2017
