Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)

Directed by: John Cassavetes | 114 minutes | drama, comedy, romance | Actors: Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Seymour Cassel, Val Avery, Timothy Carey, Katherine Cassavetes, Elizabeth Deering, Elsie Ames, Lady Rowlands, Holly Near, Judith Roberts, Jack Danskin, Eleanor Zee

Seymour Moskowitz works as a parking attendant, that’s all he can do professionally with his abilities and personality. Not that he is lazy or a bad person, there is simply not much more to it. Seymour isn’t necessarily unhappy with his limited abilities and the low social status it brings him, but eager to broaden his horizons, he decides to move from New York to Los Angeles. He has to borrow the money he needs from his mother (Katherine Cassavetes), that’s just how Seymour lives, from day to day and therefore without savings. His mother constantly grumbles at him, but is also very fond of her son and gives him the money. In Los Angeles he becomes a parking attendant again and here too he maintains a casual lifestyle to his full satisfaction.

Minnie Moore has a great job, a beautiful house and is involved in a long, intense relationship with a married man with three children. When her lover breaks up with her one day because of serious problems with his wife, Minnie is very shaken. Almost immediately afterwards, she lets her well-meaning colleague Florence (Elsie Ames) match up with the crazy Zelmo Swift (Val Avery). During the completely out of control lunch, Minnie only manages to escape Zelmo with great difficulty. It’s Seymour who helps her escape Zelmo, but instead of Minnie getting some rest, Seymour starts chasing her with desperate tenacity. He must and will let Minnie love him.

‘Minnie and Moskowitz’ has to rely entirely on the acting and the atmosphere that the actors manage to create among themselves. And that is enjoyment. John Cassavetes keeps it all within his own intimate circle of family and friends and the locations are also well known, so that a warm feeling is automatically evoked, despite all the screaming and intense emotions, the togetherness seeps through everywhere. This warm atmosphere ensures that the actors pull out all the stops to present their characters as humanly as possible without any restraint. That is special to see, as Gena Rowland’s incomparable, beautifully vulnerable portrayal of a woman who doesn’t know how to get and keep love in her life and who certainly doesn’t think she can find true love with that weird Seymour at first. . Katherine Cassavetes, indeed the mother of, is very, very funny. With a shrill voice she embarrasses her own son in front of whoever will hear it, with some mothers you don’t need enemies anymore, but she does it witty and witty and very tasty, so irresistible.

An intriguing, at times comical film that warmly portrays people in their smallness and grandeur. A loving ode to pure emotion. The only question remains whether Seymour Cassel accidentally cuts off a piece of his huge, idiotic mustache and then pretends that this cutting is indeed the intention and then decisively removes the rest as well. That moment of astonishment is sparkling, Gena Rowlands’ reaction to this unexpected tribute with which he tries to express his love for her, moving. But if it was unintentional, Cassel sported this small personal disaster to make the film better and that is completely consistent with the way this special production came about.