FACES

After a quick spell in the early Sixties as a studio director on TOO LATE BLUES and A CHILD IS WAITING, John Cassavetes spent four years planning FACES: a trip to the emotional badlands marking both a return to his indie roots and the casting of key repertory players he’d work with many times after.  

John Marley and Lynn Carlin play a May-December couple who realize their marriage is dissolving, and who both seek unhealthy trysts: Marley parties with stunning call girl Gena Rowlands, while Carlin brings home libidinous young hippie Seymour Cassel.  

The stunted atmosphere of tense sexuality, wild outbursts and off-the-cuff turns of phrase, all seen through the filter of purposefully gritty 16mm B&W, results in one of Cassavetes’ most moving efforts — one that many are still shocked to learn is entirely scripted rather than improvised.  Amongst this powerful ensemble, Carlin gives the greatest performance of all. Cassavetes elicits from Carlin a mesmerizing portrayal of a neglected wife as brave and honest as you’ll ever experience.