in harmony: part the first: "a woman under the influence"
"a woman under the influence," 1974
written & directed by john cassavetes
starring peter falk & gena rowlands
a totally engrossing, tense portrayal of how a housewife's madness fractures her suburban family.
bloody hell this film dug in and didn't let go. every component--cinematography, direction, score, script, acting--was well-orchestrated and suitably crafted a very challenging world. not surprising as a favorite of korine's as it depicts "your average american family" all fucked up with denial, addiction and rampant, untreated mental illness. the direction was especially impressive though and i am excited for the other cassavetes' film on the list, the killing of a chinese bookie. the score teeter-tottered between italian oratorios (some recorded, some performed by peter falk's fellow city employees) and brassy piano music punctuated with loud, amateurish, non-lyrical vocals. unlike a lot of films about mental illness (and a lot of films made in the 1970s) a woman under the influence does not feel like a fiction. the quality of the script, as well as falk and rowlands' performances, created a believably insane environment. the vibrant strangeness of the score saved the film from the fate often met by movies which depict sad, crazy, pretty girls---laughable melodrama. it's as though cassavetes was inviting us to laugh (funny-weird = funny-haha) at the tragic and inexplicable behavior of this twisted family. truly i couldn't conceive of how the thing was gonna end. i felt like there was no way for it to end. i had all but resigned myself to spending several months trapped in the warp of longhetti family life when the credits started rolling.
written & directed by john cassavetes
starring peter falk & gena rowlands
a totally engrossing, tense portrayal of how a housewife's madness fractures her suburban family.
bloody hell this film dug in and didn't let go. every component--cinematography, direction, score, script, acting--was well-orchestrated and suitably crafted a very challenging world. not surprising as a favorite of korine's as it depicts "your average american family" all fucked up with denial, addiction and rampant, untreated mental illness. the direction was especially impressive though and i am excited for the other cassavetes' film on the list, the killing of a chinese bookie. the score teeter-tottered between italian oratorios (some recorded, some performed by peter falk's fellow city employees) and brassy piano music punctuated with loud, amateurish, non-lyrical vocals. unlike a lot of films about mental illness (and a lot of films made in the 1970s) a woman under the influence does not feel like a fiction. the quality of the script, as well as falk and rowlands' performances, created a believably insane environment. the vibrant strangeness of the score saved the film from the fate often met by movies which depict sad, crazy, pretty girls---laughable melodrama. it's as though cassavetes was inviting us to laugh (funny-weird = funny-haha) at the tragic and inexplicable behavior of this twisted family. truly i couldn't conceive of how the thing was gonna end. i felt like there was no way for it to end. i had all but resigned myself to spending several months trapped in the warp of longhetti family life when the credits started rolling.