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Until death (or an aerobics instructor) do us part

Thursday, November 15, 2012

CineVerse enjoyed a thought-provoking discussion last evening on Woody Allen's funny-but-unsettling "Husbands and Wives." Here are some of the highlights of that group chat:


HOW IS THIS FILM A DEPARTURE FROM PREVIOUS WOODY ALLEN MOVIES? WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT “HUSBANDS AND WIVES” COMPARED TO HIS EARLIER WORKS?
·       It employs a shaky, cinema verite style of handheld camerawork
o   This style makes it feel like an impromptu fly-on-the-wall home movie or documentary
o   This shaky, verite-style camerawork would become more prominently used in films, TV shows, music videos and commercials of the time
o   Allen also uses several long, unbroken takes
·       It also is intentionally choppy in its editing style, using jump cuts
·       There’s a contemporaneous “immediacy,” rawness and urgency to the film as a reflection of its real-life artist; It’s an “art imitating life” kind of picture, in which the story and characters mimic the real-life disintegration of Woody and Mia Farrow’s longstanding relationship and Woody’s infatuation with a younger woman
o   in real life, it was Mia’s adopted Asian daughter;
o   this film was shot right before and even somewhat after Mia discovered the famous nude photos of her adopted daughter that Woody had
o   thus, the audience is made to feel like voyeurs seeing a private life dirty laundry airing and also sleuths hunting for confessional clues in the movie that reveal real-life feelings and motivations of Woody and Mia
·       A roughly equal ratio of laughs to winces: This film has, arguably, big laughs that match some of his earlier comedies, but it’s also more painful, raw and uncomfortable than any of his previous works in its depiction of the failing relationships; the comedy springs less from neuroses than from loss, resentment, betrayal, damage and wince-inducing embarrasement
·       This feature utilizes an offscreen interviewer/narrator (presumably a therapist?) as a storytelling device
·       “Husbands and Wives” also marks the end of a remarkable era of consistently high quality movies created by Allen, stretching arguably from 1977’s “Annie Hall” to this film, released in 1992; his works were more mediocre, erratic and somewhat disappointing following this film, although he’s enjoyed a bit of a resurgence since 2004
·       This flick also is the last time Allen plays a leading man and a romantic love interest in one of his movies

WHAT THEMES AND MESSAGES ARE EXPLORED IN HUSBANDS AND WIVES?
·       It asks the question: Is any relationship truly stable and safe? Can you really trust your partner to remain interested and faithful?
·       The confusing, unstable, changing, dizzying nature of love and relationships, as exemplified by the jerky handheld camera
o   The camera seems to be just as perplexed about the characters as the characters are about themselves
o   Just as the story and tone is raw and bumpy, so is the camera work
·       How love and intimacy changes over time
·       Fantasy vs. reality: Is a relationship with a younger, sexier partner just a mirage that can’t last or work?
·       Impotence and sexual frigidity
·       The conflict between the mind and the heart, between irrational feelings and the rational intellect
·       How maturity and acceptance of life’s harsh realities comes with age: a younger Allen in earlier films is more romantic, yearning and hopeful; here, he seems to be accepting of the sense of loneliness and loss that occurs when a love ends

WHAT OTHER MOVIES DOES “HUSBANDS AND WIVES” BRING TO MIND?
·       Ingmar Bergman’s “Smiles of a Summer Night,” on which the story and tone is loosely based
·       Manhattan, in that both films feature an older Allen character smitten by a very young female romantic interest
·       “Breathless,” Jean Luc Godard’s masterpiece of the French New Wave, in the shaky handheld camera and jump cut editing style it apes
·       Crimes and Misdemeanors: the professor whom Allen’s character makes a documentary  about in “Crimes” returns in this film: this Allen character watches that documentary on TV
·       Allen’s earlier “Stardust Memories”, also featuring ellipses and jump cuts when depicting emotional breakdowns by Charlotte Rampling’s character

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