Maris et femmes

Woody Allen makes good, very good, and excellent films.

Husbands and Wives is a very good film with excellent performances. It is not a comedy but rather a dramedy that explores marriages and relationships of four main characters. It has several funny moments and dialogs (it is Allen after all) but it has disturbing and sad scenes, too.

When Jack and Sally (Sidney Pollack and Judy Davis) announce that they're separating, this comes as a shock to their best friends Gabe and Judy (Allen and Farrow). They start to reevaluate their own marriage only to find out that it is not as perfect as they thought. Very soon Jack and Sally, and then Gabe and Judy start to meet new people - young, bright, and attractive. They all hope that new is better, and for some of them it is true while the others come to understanding that true love involves loving another's imperfections even when very well aware of them.

This film is for all husbands and wives, lovers, and partners around the world. It is for couples who've been in a relationship for a month, a year, or decades. It is for singles who are ready or who think they want to enter a relationship. It is also for people who don't. All of us have been or may find ourselves in a situation or relationship or having a conversation like the ones in the Allen's film. All of us think and talk about love, trust, understanding, fidelity, sex, and yes - marriage.

The best scenes of the film belong to Allen and Farrow. Some of their conversations in the movie probably reflect the situation in their own relationship that ended soon after the film was made. It is the last film Allen made with Farrow.

Judy Davis played the role of her carrier practically stealing the film. I was shocked to find out that she received all possible Critics Awards that year and lost Best Supporting Oscar to Marisa Tomei. I love Tomei's performance in My Cousin Vinny (1992) but nomination itself would've been enough. Davis was the Best Supporting actress (I saw all films with nominated performances). Sidney Pollack (The Oscar winning director of Out of Africa and two times nominee for Tootsie and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?) and Liam Nisson were wonderful. I did not like Juliet Lewis at all. What she did adorably in Cape Fear with De Niro for ten minutes scene, she tried to stretch for over an hour here - did not work, IMO.

I like "Husbands and Wives" - it was interesting to watch, and it left me thinking if such thing as perfect relationship is ever possible, and what it would take to not only find it but to keep it.

Woody Allen went the documentary (ish) route, again, with his 1992 film Husbands and WIves. The film follows a married couple's deterioration after their married friends decide to separate. By telling the story in documentary format with a hand-held camera with a lot of movement and close-up shots, the audience is completely immersed in the story, almost like voyeurs as we see a marriage crumble apart.

Jack (Sydney Pollack) and Sally (Judy Davis) break some tough news to their friends Gabe (Woody Allen) and Judy (Mia Farrow) that they will be separating. Judy and Sally are quite nonchalant while delivering the news but Gabe and Judy are devastated. Gabe remarks that theirs is a marriage benchmark as he only thinks of them as "Jack and Sally". Judy is completely devastated even retiring to her bedroom in a dither over hearing the news. Gabe and Judy console themselves and each other as Jack and Sally go on to see other people. The news changes them, as well, however. Gabe and Judy both begin to question aspects of their life and relationship and start to believe that they may not be as happy in their marriage as they've grown comfortable believing. Gabe starts succumbing to the admiration of one of his female students and Judy realizes she is attracted to another man. What began as a series of changes in the lives of Jack and Sally has delivered life- changing impact for Gabe and Judy.

I love the documentary style Woody used for husbands and Wives. I've heard many criticize it, yet, I think it's perfect to convey the intimate emotions dealt with in the film. I especially enjoy how real Woody depicts human emotions in this film. Who hasn't recovered from a breakup when one moment you are whole, moving on, and living your life when all of a sudden you get a nagging thought in your head that you just can't shake and you become a mix of anger and desperation in an instant? That's exactly what Woody showed in the scene in which Sally was in the apartment of a man she was to go on a date with but she couldn't shake the news that Jack had moved someone in his home just three weeks after their separation. That scene, as gut-wrenching as it was, was my favorite because it was so real. That really is how emotions work, they are wild and unpredictable, quickly changing based on new information. Husbands and Wives was a truly human film with rich touches of Woody Allen (another Bergman reference and a comment from Woody about walking in Paris in the rain) definitely a stand out in the excellent filmography of Woody Allen.

I have always been a fan of Woody Alan and this movie really expresses the essence of his personal and constant recurring confrontation with the meaning of life. His pursuit of a significant context in human relationships always drives him to the brink of madness as he realizes all too well that there is no basis for real values in a life cycle which is basically totally absurd.The dark shadow of the philosophy of despair is constantly present but often relieved by a delightful form of sarcastic humor. This movie is for people who know what it's all about and are conscious of the fact that we are all trapped in this the "comédie humaine". The acting is excellent with no flaws at all. Judy Davis is a sheer delight to watch and Juliette Lewis - fascinating as always - with her mixture of Lolita-like innocence, her girlish ways and sudden adult insights would be a dangerous temptress for any middle-aged guy.

Gabe (Woody Allen) and Judy (Mia Farrow) have invited their good friends Jack (Sydney Pollack) and Sally (Judy Davis) for a small dinner at their quaint Manhattan apartment. Their abode is full of books and knickknacks all pointing to a comfortable urbanite life in the largest city in the world. Then Jack and Sally reveal some surprising news…after years of seemingly happy marriage, the two have agreed to a separation and eventual divorce. After that bomb is dropped the two couples reexamine their relationships with each other, trying to find meaning in romances both current and past while discovering the good, the bad and the ugly in marriage.

Woody Allen is mostly known for his comedies. But while Husbands and Wives has some pretty spot on observational humor, the story is largely somber and dramatic. Not dramatic in the sense of a Wednesday afternoon soap opera but a benign drama that with a few spikes of activity focuses mostly on the characters. There is no clever high concept or narrative liberties here like say, The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985); the film is more straight-laced and character driven along the lines of Interiors (1978) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

And what of the characters or rather the actors who flesh them out? Judy Davis, Mia Farrow and Juliette Lewis are the obvious standouts, representing three very different women all of which are looking for the same thing; someone to love and someone to love them back. Davis received an Oscar nomination for her role as a bitter divorcée trying to come to terms with her ex-husband's infidelity and being single again. She's continually frustrated and confused by the yearnings of the heart occasionally even lashing out on her boyfriend Gates (Liam Neeson). She's cynical and wary of attachment yet deep down she knows that her entanglements with Jack aren't over.

Mia Farrow is a stark counterpoint to Diane Keaton's brassy personalities of Allen's earlier work. Farrow's intensity lies always below the surface, providing the perked looks and mousiness of a young ingénue with the mind and body language of a veteran in the trials of love. It's a shame that out of the twelve Woody Allen films she has been in (for which Husbands and Wives was most famously her last) she had never received recognition by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her stellar work.

Juliette Lewis who plays one of Gabe's young students from his Literature course, has the appearance and vulnerability of a dewy-eyed devotee. Yet when the amiable Gabe discovers he might be the object of desire here and Lewis's Rain the controller, he recoils. There's a scene where the two are in a cab discussing the latest draft of his book. Unable to take criticism, Gabe calls Rain a 20-year-old twit and says "I'd hate to be your boyfriend, he must go through hell." Rain cavalierly responds "Well, I'm worth it."

Those who bemoan Allen's post-Annie Hall (1977) work won't find relief from his more meditative works of the 1980's. While most of the characters are likable they sometimes do unlikeable things, each on their own journey of discovery. I suppose we all do things we regret for love and those with a mature outlook on the subject matter will find a lot to enjoy and a lot to flinch at in Husbands and Wives. I suppose the heart wants what the heart wants.

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Woody Allen really knows how to write good male and female characters.