John Cassavetes' "Husbands"
Last night, I spent 2 hours and 20 minutes with horrific characters in the excellent film Husbands (1970) by John Cassavetes, starring him, along with Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara. I saw the film on the Criterion Channel, which is terrific, but Husbands is very much a film to see in a cinema house. I have to imagine being in a dark theater, in the audience, and sharing in the presence of Gus (Cassavetes), Archie (Falk), and Harry (Gazzara) would be a painful experience. But through pain comes good things (in moderation, of course), and there is no such thing as a bad film by Cassavetes. One may prefer one film over another, but if you love his work, approach to dialogue, and film cutting (or non-cutting), you’re in good company.
There are scenes in the film where I’m watching between my fingers, especially when Harry tries to pick up on girls, and even Archie’s weird approach isn’t comforting. It is like being a child and watching your Dad doing lame stuff. The experience of being part of the Cassavetes’ world is a feeling of embarrassment, shame, and equal amounts of disgust. That is how one feels, and must add, enjoying the works of Cassavetes. Although it is less painful for me, my family is nothing like the clan in these ‘fictional’ characters in their work. As a male adult, I don’t identify with them or being a pig in numerous social situations. I have been with vulgar company, and it’s painful even to think back to why I was in that room with them. Film/theater is a safe position to expose oneself to unpleasant situations/individuals and hopefully to distance oneself from whatever is happening on the screen.
The death of someone in your inner circle, especially if it came as a surprise, is a time-shifter or the feeling that the world is not logically adding up. Our trio of friends here have found a vulnerable opening when their best friend dies from a sudden heart attack. Middle-aged, financially successful, and very much wrapped in the New York suburbia landscape, they are prisoners of their surroundings and mental state. A change, such as death, can cause positions in that social order but also gives room for self-doubt. The grouping of Gus/Archie/Harry, in essence, works as one, but there is a feeling that the organization of that social order has been damaged due to the death of their friend.
Husbands reflect on inner relationships and how they deal with those outside their social order. Not only British people (while in London), but even more troubling, their wives and children. And it is primarily women who get the bullying, especially from Harry, which is truly disturbing. As their world gets smaller, they have to return to their domestic cages, but one moves on, or does he? Cassavetes is the genius that gives these voices a texture that’s very much like a short John Cheever narrative. The quiet despair has a loud demeanor and an off-putting but fulfilling viewing experience.