Faces

Composite Score: 82.67

Starring: John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel, Fred Draper, Val Avery, Dorothy Gulliver, Joanne Moore Jordan, Darlene Conley, Gene Darfler, and Elizabeth Deering

Director: John Cassavetes

Writer: John Cassavetes

Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

MPAA Rating: R

Box Office: $3,757 worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Faces is John Cassavetes’s film about a married couple whose relationship is falling apart, resulting in both of them pursuing younger partners. The film is shot in an almost found footage style, utilizing natural light, minimal sound design, and a plethora of close-up shots to create an intimate, almost voyeuristic, look at a failing marriage. The film stars John Marley and Lynn Carlin as its central figures and Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel as their respective younger counterparts. Both Carlin and Cassel received Oscar nominations for their performances in this film, and Cassavetes received a screenwriting Oscar nomination as well. The film’s simple but emotional dive into the messy world of romantic relationships has made it a lasting standby in the film pantheon.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                The intense nature of Cassavetes’s found footage stylistic choices in Faces combined with its naturally heavy subject matter result in a film that is by no means for everyone. With plentiful conversations between characters on a variety of subjects that range from aging to having children to infidelity to smoking to suicide, the film covers a wide range of viewers in its occasionally discomforting relatability. If you worry about certain topics hitting too close to home, Faces might be one that you’d want to avoid, especially since the film’s ending ends up being incredibly vague and leaving the audience without a sense of either hope or despair for the film’s central characters. Cassavetes wants his watchers to think and relate, and he accomplishes this but perhaps at the expense of the film’s enjoyability.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                In terms of portraying real conversations in a film setting, the screenplay for Faces is a wonder. By allowing its characters to ramble in authentic ways and to express thoughts in a seemingly stream-of-consciousness way, the film’s script truly brings its audience into the scenes with the characters – a feeling that is only heightened by the film’s unique cinematography. The characters sound real, and their expressions convey deep emotions tied to their dialogue in ways that feel like actual late-night conversations between friends and acquaintances after a night out. Cassavetes captures that sense of wonder, incoherence, and intensity with near-perfect balance and realism.

                Though only two of the film’s four central characters received award nominations from the Academy, all four performers deliver moving performances. Gena Rowlands’s disinterested but passionate Jeannie provides the ideal contrast to the giggling but apparently apathetic Maria. At the same time, Lynn Carlin’s Maria shines when she is away from her husband, coming across as demure and troubled, clearly concerned about the state of her marriage while also not wanting to miss out on relationship opportunities if her husband truly is leaving her. John Marley as Richard plays a classic straight man, burnt out from a sexless marriage, disinterested in his job, and desperate for anything that will help him feel something again. Seymour Cassel’s Chet also exhibits a need for connection and feeling but shows it in an entirely different way, playing the hippie crooner who wants to not miss out on youthful flings as he draws nearer to middle age. All four performances congeal to form the complex love lives at the center of this film and make it as great as it is.

                Faces relies heavily on its brilliant leading performers and an intensely realistic script to portray some heavy and heady content on its way to greatness. The discomfort it brings to certain audiences ends up being part of what makes this film one of the Greatest of All Time, but it might also be enough to cause others to skip out on the film. This film is currently available to stream on HBO Max if you are one of those interested in seeing it.