Shadows - 1959 (dir. John Cassavetes)

Micky says...

A bit of info about what we are doing. We are going to try and watch as many of the movies in this book (1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) as we can. Of course we have already seen a few of them, so we figure we'll revisit them if we actually see like 900 or something. There is no order to what we are watching, so we're just starting with what we're both interested in, and what we can rent from the video stores! And we're gonna write about it as we go.

So we watched 'Shadows' last night, well, attempted to. Of course I had trouble keeping my eyes open, so apart from the first 20 minutes and the 10 minutes after Adam said in a surprised tone: "was that the shadow of the camera?", I think for most of the film I was half asleep. I need to make a second attempt! When? is the question. It's due back at Planet on Sunday.

When I went to Planet to hire the DVD (Adam was preparing to DJ at the Velvet Lounge) I saw an old friend there who explained that his girlfriend worked there and he was waiting for her shift to end. He used to have a massive gelled-up-mountain of hair, like Astroboy but even higher. It would have been hard to maintain. I remember people often asked to touch his hair. He went by the nickname 'Turtle' back then, though I can't remember (or perhaps never knew in the first place) where this name came from. When I found 'Shadows' I took it up to the counter and was served by his girlfriend (I assumed) who had Rockabilly black plaits tied with red bows. They would make a cute couple.

For dinner Ads cooked (veggie) spaghetti bolognese and made a salad to go with it, and we also had a bit of Lindt milk chocolate. Yum.

Ads says...
I'd never seen any of John Cassavetes' films. He seemed like a filmmaker I should be across - the godfather of independent American cinema and all - so I must admit I was a little ashamed never to have dipped into his work. When we came up with the idea for this blog and were deciding where (in the 100+ years of cinema) to start, Cassaevetes came to me as someone who's work I'd always been interested in but had yet to encounter, which is kind of the point of this project.


I loved this film. It's kind of compared to and contemporised with the French New Wave, and in many ways what Cassavetes was attempting here - a frank depiction of young people, their lives and their relationships - is very much in line with what the French filmmakers of the time were doing as well. The editing is quickfire and haphazard, which makes for some completely stylised moments, whilst others are more naturalistic and have a verite realism to them. Of course its all about the performances, and (for the most part) they're so naturalistic that it's breathtaking. There are so many genuine and tender moments in this film that depict the indescribable nature of friendship and the close bond that siblings have. The three main characters Hugh, Ben and Lelia are all depicted in fantastic performances - Hugh is the older, more responsible one who has established himself and sees himself as protector of his younger siblings, Ben is a reckless, moody young guy, always at the whim of his emotions and his mates, and Lelia is on the outside a sophisticated and elegant (and extraordinarily beautiful) young woman who, underneath is really just a scared little girl. The way their individual foibles play out against the push and pull of dialogue is gorgeous, and the way race is treated not as a central plot point, but as an element of their lives with which they just have to deal is great - it doesn't push any heavy-handed themes in your face, it just shows you how these three cool cats live.


Which brings me to another point - this is just such a cool film. I mean, it's set in New York during the beat period - the constant jazz score is a vivid reminder of this setting, and although the dialogue is dated, it offers a great snapshot of the era, of just how cool hanging out in jazz bars in New York in the 50s must have been. This is a beautiful film, both for its vivid and natural enactment of its setting and for its impeccably intimate performances.

Micky says...

Yaaaayyy! So I managed to watch the whole film without falling asleep (the sleepiness isn't because of the film BTW, just me, sitting down for a while, under a cosy, warm...blanket....zzzzz...), and yes it is a very nice film. It is also 'cool' as Adam says, like when one of the brothers refer to having some 'cats' around, or the other ambles down the street in his black leather jacket and shades. The apartment and diner featured throughout is also cool. This film is a snapshot into the lives of these three siblings, and one thing Ads and I both enjoyed was the fact that the film doesn't feel the need to explain everything. I had lots of questions about this family but I also don't mind the fact that they weren't answered for me. I was free to dream away about how they can afford such a beautiful and interesting apartment when it seems that only one brother works (as a fairly unsuccessful singer), I wonder what did their parents do for a living, and where are they?

The character of Lelia is beautiful, but also a bit cheeky and rude! She is an engaging character nonetheless, and probably the most interesting of the three siblings (for me), even though her dialogue sometimes feels a bit 'rehearsed' (definitely not improvised as a note at the end of the film tries to suggest).

So I had to watch this film in three sittings - but definitely glad that I did!