“Beneath the urgency of all the older characters—both men, both women…—is the realization that life is short, that time is running out, that life sells you a romantic illusion and neglects to tell you that you can’t have it…stated famed film reviewer Peter Bradshaw.
Woody Allen’s 1992 film Husbands and Wives is a mixture of scandal, cynicism, comedy and misery. Throughout the film, Allen reveals to us the grief and desperation behind long-term marriages. By using jerky and almost uncomfortable handheld cameras, the film gives off a very raw and realistic vibe that leaves viewers with a sense of unpredictability and impulsiveness.
Husbands and Wives stars Allen and Mia Farrow as Gabe and Judy Roth, the protagonist couple whose marriage has evidently dried up over the years. The two are juxtaposed against their close friends Jack (Sydney Pollack) and Sally (Judy Davis) who announce their divorce in the opening scene.
Throughout the documentary-styled film, we get to see personal confessions of the four in which they reveal their cheating, lustful daydreams, misery and never-ending feelings of hopelessness. The couples consistently question each other’s love, honesty and passion, and it is not until the end that we truly understand the fear and panic these characters have of being alone in life. Everyone’s feelings are eventually exposed, and for better or worse, only the audience can decide what is right. A deep sense of loneliness and alienation is apparent throughout the entire film, and the illusion of true love is destroyed forever. This is a purely realistic story filled with desolation, only to be broken up by few sequences of ironic comedy.
The film ends and the last words we are left with are, “Can I go? Is this over?”
As we sit and ponder the film, all we can selfishly think about is what we would do in their desperate shoes, before coming to the life-shattering conclusion that we have already walked in them for countless miles.
It seems like Allen loosely based Husbands and Wives on events in his own life, which adds an even greater pragmatic feel to the film. We are forced to face truths and to ask questions regarding our own lives, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Movies are supposed to push the audience and to challenge life’s lessons, and anyone who is mature enough to do so should not pass up the opportunity to watch this great American film. Love will be questioned and illusions will be shattered at 5th Avenue Cinema, which will be screening the movie Nov. 15–17.
5th Avenue Cinema is free for PSU students, $3 for other students and $4 general admission. Visit 5thavenuecinema.org/upcoming-films for show times and a full schedule of other films being screened over fall quarter.
