“A Woman Under the Influence” The strength of Cassavetes’ film as it penetrates into the characters’ inner lives.

“A Woman Under the Influence” synopsis

Nick, a construction site supervisor, and his wife Mabel. One day, when Nick is unable to return home due to a sudden accident, Mabel's eccentric behavior begins to become noticeable. Six months have passed The Day After Nick finally admitted his wife to a psychiatric hospital. Six months later, Mabel invited many friends and relatives to celebrate Mabel's discharge from the hospital, but...

Index

• john cassavetes movie thrills
• A director's work that was unlucky until the 1970s
• “A Woman Under the Influence” was a new era women’s film.
• Influence on New York School writers
• Cassavetes' approach to production as told by Sam Shaw

john cassavetes movie thrills

What is the fun in John Cassavetes movies? Isn't it possible to experience the thrill of being engulfed by the flow of human emotions?

As in his masterpieces such as `` Faces '' (1968) and ``A Woman Under the Influence'' (1974), the characters in the film are men and women who at first glance seem like ordinary people. There are relationships that are on the verge of breaking down at any moment, and there are bonds that slowly grow. However, the story does not unfold in a predetermined manner, and you have no idea what direction it will go in five or ten minutes. There is only that moment.

Cassavetes cuts out emotion and presents it raw to the audience. There is no elaborate processing involved. The audience flinches for a moment at the realism, but eventually becomes absorbed in its raw intensity and tenderness. It goes beyond logic and resonates directly with your body, so there is no escape. And from the moment you are swallowed up by it, you begin to drift through Cassavetes' world. You are swallowed up by the flow of emotions without knowing where they will end up, and soon you begin to feel an endless thrill.

“A Woman Under the Influence” (c) 1974 Faces International Films, Inc.

Once you know the thrill of being immersed in his world, you'll want to watch movies you've already seen again. This is because you begin to feel cathartic not in the narrative, but in being engulfed by each moment. Therein lies the thrill of a Cassavetes film. And even after you've finished watching it, you'll be left with a lingering feeling that makes you want to return to his world again.

Cassavetes' directorial debut, `` American Shadow '', was made in 1959, and his later masterpiece `` Love Streams '' was released in 1984. All of the works were created in the olden days, but strangely, they don't feel old. Isn't that because he creates movies that go inside the protagonists, rather than the outer stories that surround them? At the center of his films are people, and he tries to observe their emotional flow. Even if times change, human emotions are neither old nor new. This is why Cassavetes' films have achieved such universal strength.

A director's work that was unlucky until the 1970s