Faces (1968)

Directed by: John Cassavetes | 129 minutes | drama | Actors: John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel, Fred Draper, Val Avery, Dorothy Gulliver, Darlene Conley, Gene Darfler, Elizabeth Deering, Joanne Moore Jordan, George Sims

With ‘Faces’, John Cassavetes delivers one of the most powerful films in his already impressive oeuvre. With phenomenal performances from John Marley and the debuting Lynn Carlin as the deeply unhappy married couple Richard and Maria Forst, the director dissects the dangers and horrors of the American middle class.

Richard and Maria are doing well, materially speaking. No lack of money and friends, the only thing missing is love. And sense of self. Richard takes the first step to break out of the rut, to change his miserable existence as Chairman of the Board of a major corporation, when he and comrade Freddie (Fred Draper) have a fun time with luxury call girl Jeannie (Gena Rowlands). . However, Freddie’s jealousy makes this evening very different than expected and Richard returns home. Here he finds Maria, who is bored and begs Richard to take her to the cinema (“There’s a Bergman spinning.”). At first, the couple seems very happy with each other, having genuine fun and talking about friends, sex and each other. In one of the strongest scenes of ‘Faces’, Maria has an uncontrollable giggle at something Richard says and does. Rarely has a faint smile been shown on the silver screen so faithfully. It’s hard to imagine that this scene required more takes than the first.

After this cheerful interlude, the viewer is just as shocked as Maria when Richard announces his decision to divorce. Without taking into account his wife’s feelings, he calls Jeannie, while Maria watches him – apparently controlled and cool. From that moment on, the film falls in two, first comes the prelude to Richard’s second meeting with Jeannie, who already has two gentlemen in the house with her roommate/colleague. However, after Richard’s phone call, Jeannie isn’t quite there with her thoughts; it’s clear that meeting Richard hasn’t left her cold either. Resigned and with little involvement, she hears the complaints from her customer. It only gets really interesting when Richard invades. The dynamics in the group are seriously disrupted and the proverbial fifth wheel on the car does not quite cover the load in this case: earlier there are three people too many in this room.

Then Maria is followed: she goes with friends – all happily married or not – to a nightclub, where they are soon noticed by the much younger Chet (Cassavete’s regular actor Seymour Cassel), who feels called to help the gloomy ladies. to cheer. The party quickly moves to Maria’s house, where Chet sings songs of her own (“Florence from Torrance…”), flirts with each of the ladies, but it has long since become clear that his interest is in Maria. Maria remains unapproachable and oblivious for a long time, as if she feels too good to jump out of the band, but eventually her pride breaks too…

The title of the film is well chosen, because the faces of the characters are beautifully portrayed. In addition, these say more than is actually spoken; in ‘Faces’ a lot is said, but what really matters remains bubbling under the surface and thus unspoken. Although most of the playing time is played cheerfully; there is singing, dancing and laughing, it is obvious that no one is really happy. Their forced joy is a way of dispelling the misery, that makes the film difficult to watch, it is difficult to keep the attention during the nonsensical conversations and in most fits of laughter the feeling prevails that you could only laugh if you were in that room is filled with the necessary alcoholic refreshments. On the one hand, Cassavetes has created an enormous distance from his audience, but on the other hand, it is the human emotions that are so recognizable, so that the viewer is nevertheless drawn into the misery. It’s the credit of that great cast (there were Oscar nominations for the supporting roles of Lynn Carlin and Seymour Cassel) and the strong directing of actor director Cassavetes. ‘Faces’ is certainly not recommended for everyone, there are too many scenes in it that apparently lead nowhere, but if you can go along with it, you will certainly be overwhelmed by this piece of craftsmanship.