Faces (1968)

Faces, the Cassavetes' classic, is an unflinching glimpse into a marriage on the precipice of disaster. Drunken brawls, hysterical laughter, and sloppy slow dancing.

• Directed & written by John Cassavetes

• Starring Gena Rowlands, John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel

I'm gradually making my way through Cassavetes' filmography and enjoying every minute of it. (I know, what took me so long?) So far I've watched A Woman Under the Influence, Shadows, and now Faces; all three fit into his typical cinéma vérité filmmaking, emphasizing "authenticity" and exposing the truth of the film's subjects. I'm pretty familiar with Godard's Frenchy French cinéma vérité movies, but Cassavetes has a particular flair stemming from his background as an actor and acting teacher in NYC. His films (so far) have been deeply, uncomfortably intimate, focusing solely on the actors' performances for narrative. It's been refreshing and challenging to watch such stripped down films, and totally different from the spectacle-forward movies I tend to gravitate toward from this era. (My apologies to any film friends reading this, I'm aware I sound like someone who hasn't studied film history. Hopefully my newbie Cassavetes status is endearing?)

Anywho, Faces feels like being on a 24 hour bender with the messiest straight people you've ever met. Most of the film is shot in tight closeups, lingering on Gena Rowland's smudged makeup or a drunken embrace between Seymour Cassel (playing a horny dude) and Lynn Carlin (in a big ole beehive). You can almost smell the booze wafting from their lips and there's no moment of relief for the viewer. Faces is a portrait of the unbearable tension within an unraveling marriage. One moment there's hysterical laughter, the next is life shattering. I would be remiss not to mention a truly gritty scene toward the end when one character overdoses. It's not for the faint of heart.

I don't have much to say about the costumes in Faces as all of the focus is on performance. A costume designer wasn't credited, so I'm assuming Cassavetes or the actors' themselves chose the looks? Gena wears this chic houndstooth cocktail dress, otherwise there's a lot of late 60s suits. Her makeup is Glamour though. Gena is queen.

Trivia!

• Lynn Carlin was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards. This was her debut role, which is pretty shocking. Cassavetes was nominated for Best Screenplay.

• Faces was filmed in Cassavetes' house and Lady Rowland's house (Gena's mother). Lady is credited as for set decoration.

• At the time of filming, Cassavetes and Gena were married. (Hm.....)

• The original director's cut was SIX HOURS LONG. Supposedly there are several alternative versions of the film and the first draft was 250 pages.

Recommend?

Yes, but Faces is definitely not casual viewing. It's actually pretty tough to watch, but if you're a little film dork like me, you won't regret it. Don't say I didn't warn you about the overdose scene.