An interesting piece. Definitely one of the better depictions of mental deterioration that I've seen, and this is an especially strong genre. Gena Rowlands performance is excellent as I've read, completely lived up to its hype. I also liked how Peter Falk's depiction of the husband who's losing his mind in a different way trying to deal with his insane wife nicely complimented and contrasted Rowlands' character. Their chemistry together was powerful.
Yet, I didn't like how despite the 6 month stint in rehab the wife did, she came out basically the same, and because of Cassavetes choice to make both the first and second dinner scenes especially long, I got a little bored after a while, considering they felt nearly identical. And to some extent, the uber-casual, I don't need to edit, I don't need to do anything special with the camera attitude employed by many independent filmmakers is starting to bother me. Although I must mention, I did really enjoy Cassavetes' use of the moving close up. By sometimes focusing on a moving subject in a close up, the viewers will often find the point of interest temporarily out of the shot, which allows Cassavetes to use a sort of slowly gliding, passive camera feel. Overall, a good film with excellent performances, but I thought it was just a little bit too light on plot line and camera work that could keep my attention.
I'm looking forward to seeing The Killing of a Chinese Bookie eventually.
