Fantastic Cassavetes film, I’m glad it was finally released on DVD in the states. It’s basically Cassavetes, Peter Falk, and Ben Gazzara against the world. The death of their friend unwinds them and they lash at out everything, but they do it together as one unit. The best thing about this film is how it is patient and pulls you in line by line. At first, you may be thinking “What’s the fuss about with this Cassavetes guy?” and by the end of the movie you’ll be saying “Goddammit, I want to see every movie this guy has ever done”. The dialogue is all very realistic along with the way the characters expose their feelings (or for that matter, try to hide their feelings).

All 3 of them want to feel as if they are all individuals with something to say, that nobody can tell them what to do or hold them down. The problem is that they have already put constraints on themselves by becoming family men with children, wives, houses and cars. They don’t want to accept this though and this struggle is what powers the film. Don’t expect “plot points” or anything of that nature, this film does whatever it wants and flows entirely at it’s own pace. Truly remarkable though, the acting and dialogue are top notch and it is so intensely real, you will feel like you know these guys after watching.

Anytime someone says “They don’t make em like they used to anymore”, they’re referring to Cassavetes.