Faces

Genre: relationship drama (in black and white) 

With: John Marley (Richard Forst), Gena Rowlands (Jeannie Rapp), Lynn Carlin (Maria, Richard’s wife), Fred Draper (Freddie Draper), Seymour Cassel (Chet), Val Avery (Jim McCarthy), Dorothy Gulliver (Florence), Joanne Moore Jordan (Louise Draper, Freddie’s wife), Darlene Conley (Billy Mae), Gene Darfler (Joe Jackson)

Direction and screenplay: John Cassavetes

Release: 1968

Studio: Walter Reade Organization, CONTINENTAL

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.7/10

Pathetic Men and Women Groping Frantically for Love        

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Story-line: one fateful evening, Richard Forst, a Los Angeles producer, and his pal Freddie go to a nightclub where they meet a very attractive lady named Jeannie Rapp. While they chit-chat and fool around, Jeannie and Richard establish a rapport that will soon threaten his seemingly happy marriage.

Pluses: exceedingly natural acting by Gena Rowlands, John Marley and cast, remarkable dialogues and telling hesitations, an offbeat and unpredictable screenplay that features engaging characters and robust drama, impeccable helming, fine cinematography by Al Ruban (with Maurice McEndree and Haskell Wexler).

Minuses: the movie is very talky but never dull.  

Comments: what struck me most about FACES is the emotional range of its characters (at times tender, serious, irrational, humorous or brutal) and how they change moods in a fraction of a second. These frustrated people are ready, on the spur of the moment, to risk what they have built up over the years for something that may or may not be love. Will they succeed in their quest or will it all end in silence? Cue final credits…

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