Husbands and Wives
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Movie Reviews of Husbands and Wives
Movie Review: Woody puts the "Fun" in dysFUNctional
Summary: 5 Stars
He's not happy with her, their friends aren't happy with each other, the friends break up, he flinging with his aerobics instructor, she, trying to indulge in an editor, while everybody self-consciously tells the viewers what they will not tell their (ex-)spouses. We see manipulation posing as truth, vulnerable facades imitating intimacy, lust mimicking passion, and discover, in the end, that perhaps the only true desire in a Woody Allen movie is to dodge happiness & to take pleasure in the misery of knowing that it probably wouldn't have worked out anyhow.Confused yet?
I can't imagine anybody still in the "honeymoon" stage of a First Great Love appreciating this movie. For those scarred by years of relationship campaigning, much of Allen's view may ring all-too-true. I won't say how many times I saw myself, my wife, and ex-lovers plastered against the screen.
Throughout the movie, individuals and couples long for intimacy, for lasting passion, for refreshment, but end up settling for comfort, manipulation, and denial. I wanted to scream. I hoped, hopelessly, for hope--this is, after all, a Woody Allen Movie--but was left, in the end, with Gabriel (literally "God's Hero") telling viewers that love, romance, and passion can only exist as a neurotic and fleeting figment of experience.
Damned if I'm willing to settle for that. And perhaps that's the great strength of this movie. It could, after all, be a satire, not about mid-life-crisis-men seeking youth through young lovers, but showing, in the crassest relief, how barriers and little deceits ultimately lead to destruction and misery in relationships. And maybe that's where the hope lies, in learning to be honest in a way that none of Allen's characters can be, not even with themselves.
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Movie Review: Woody Allen's Scenes from a Marriage.
Summary: 5 Stars
Complicated relationships (Annie Hall) and the romantic folly of May-December relationships (Manhattan) are familiar themes in Woody Allen's movies. His films confront the subject relationships with a depth not typically found in Hollywood releases. Allen's 1992 film, Husbands and Wives is a perfect example. Shot in cinéma-vérité-style, the film tells the "bleakly nihilistic" story of two long-married couples, Jack (Sydney Pollack) and Sally (Judy Davis), and Gabe (Allen) and Judy (Mia Farrow). When Jack and Sally announce their plans to divorce, Gabe is shocked and Judy is devastated with the news. They assumed their friends were happy in their marriage, but soon discover that many "rational" relationships are not as perfect as they seem on the surface. As a result of their friends' separation, Judy asks Gabe if he ever fantasizes about other women. Truth be told, Gabe is an English professor, who admires one of his 20-year-old students, Rain (Juliette Lewis). They develop a friendship. Jack begins a relationship with Sam, a hard-bodied aerobics trainer, who is perfect except for the fact that she believes in astrology (much to Jack's embarrasment). Gabe confesses to Jack that his new girlfriend is a "cocktail waitress." Meanwhile, Sally meets Michael (Liam Neeson). The ultimate wisdom of Allen's brilliant film is that life is filled with endless romantic dreams and possibilities, but only real love allows us to see through all the illusions and to accept another's imperfections. This is one of my favorite Woody Allen films.
G. Merritt
Movie Review: ONE OF HIS BEST AND MOST BITTER
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably the best of Woody's "bitter" movies (DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS) wherein Allen continued to explore relationships with humor, but with far less of the optimistic, hopeful nature he shows in classics such as HANNAH AND HER SISTERS.HUSBANDS AND WIVES is crisply written and extremely well performed. Everyone is terrific, but Judy Davis and Sydney Pollack truly shine. They are married, but he dumps her for a very young woman. Davis finds herself on the dating scene again, but even as she goes on her first date, she is dealing angrily with her estranged husband.
Mia Farrow and Allen are another disfunctional ex-couple. Throw into the mix nice, single man Liam Neeson, whom both women lust and fight over, and you've got a nice stew of relationships.
The movie is VERY funny, but is tinged with bitterness throughout. Occasionally, the movie is presented as a sort of documentary, where the main characters are answering questions directly into the camera, but this device is a bit of distraction. It's a minor thing, though.
Truly, the script is sizzling, but it is the performances that make this movie unforgettable. Judy Davis was nominated for an Oscar, but Farrow is very good as well, and it is a hoot to see Neeson in such an early role. Pollack could have been nominated as well, and Allen gives what is probably his last great performance (possibly excepting DECONSTRUCTING HARRY).
Allen fans must see this film. It's one of his most important. If you're not an Allen fan, I suggest starting with a "kinder, gentler" film such as ANNIE HALL or MANHATTAN or HANNAH... before taking on this one
Movie Review: Classic 'Cerebral' Woody Allen at his best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen every one of Allen's films multiple times and 'Husbands and Wives' stands out as one of his most successful on every level.
This is not a film for those who stopped watching Allen after 'Hannah and Her Sisters' or who think the 70s was his best decade. This is for the mature Allen fan who can appreciate his bitter wit as well as some very fine acting by Judy Davis (one of Allen's three favorite actresses of all time), and Sydney Pollack. For once Mia shows the audience some true rage as parts of this film were acted the same week that she found out about Allen's affair with Soon-Yi.
I recently saw a documentary interviewing Allen on PBS and he said that he views 'Husbands and Wives' as one of his top five most successful films. That's coming from the horse's mouth.
For those who complain about the hand-held nature of shots, etc. keep in mind that he did all of this to disorient the viewer, just as the couples are disoriented about the nature of their relationships.
I love the fact that he exploits such clichés as the older man-younger woman relationship and turns it on its head. This is a masterpiece for those who are ready to explore the 'darker side of the spectrum' of his films. Once you get to like it though, it will become a part of you as none of his others films could. Also, love the title song, 'What is this thing called love' by Leo Reisman & his Orchestra (from one of Woody's own records).
Enjoy!
Movie Review: Woody's Masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a major Woody Allen fanatic since I was 10 years old, but only now, after my third viewing of "Husbands and Wives" did I fully comprehend the importance of this film within his oeuvre. It's home movie feel and documentary style provide subtle integrity for its frames. The acting and the characterization are superb. This may be the best cast he ever assembled with producer, and non-actor, Sydney Pollack even putting forth a remarkable performance. The audience will care about all of the players and wonder exactly what will happen in the end.
Allen denied repeatedly that "Husbands and Wives" was autobiographical but it would be impossible for it not to have been given the events of his life. Here we see him play a writer who, just like Allen, is cherished by fans for his "funnier early works." One wonders whether his affair with Soon-Yi had begun at the time of its production and what exactly his interactions with Farrow were like.
Allen was clearly working through many of his own personal dilemmas and that is exactly why the film is so authentic and believable. It will touch in some way most who see it as sometimes life really does imitate art.