John Cassavetes: the director Ray Carney called a “visionary and a dreamer”
Independent American cinema simply wouldn’t be what it is today without the works of John Cassavetes. The actor-turned-director ended up acting as a means to fund his own movies, and he proceeded to deliver some of the most important pieces of cinema in the 20th century.
Among Cassavetes’ greatest works are the likes of Shadows, Faces, Husbands, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night and Love Streams, many of which he made with his wife Gena Rowlands and his fellow actors Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara. The unique element of such films, though, was the uncompromised element of reality they exhibited.
By focusing on the actors, Cassavetes allowed their on-screen relationships to come to the surface with all their respective joys and sorrows. Cassavetes’ films simply assumed a kind of cinema verité approach, where the false conventions of Hollywood studio movies were rejected.
Cassavetes has naturally been the subject of much scholarly criticism, but few figures have delved into the deeper meanings of his works as much as film theorist Ray Carney. Much of Carney’s work revolves around Cassavetes, and he has a profound understanding of what kind of mission the director had set out for himself.
“There is no question that he is one of the great twentieth-century artists – in any medium,” Carney once told Jake Mahaffy in a 2002 interview. “He was a visionary and a dreamer, a passionate, nonstop talker who was exciting to listen to.” Indeed, Cassavetes seemed to live and breathe movies and gave a sense of energy to his actors, who were always excited to make films with him.
Carney added, “People loved to be around him. They basked in his energy. He inspired them and could talk people into doing seemingly anything. It took those qualities to make the movies.” Cassavetes’ films were sometimes long in runtime, and his actors had to work long hours without much pay, as he often financed the movies with his own money.
Because of that, the director had to motivate his stars in another way, to “throw a lot of magic dust around”, as Carney puts it, or to “play with their souls”. He had to throw a lot of magic dust around to keep people working long hours without pay. He had to play with their souls to motivate them.
The director himself had once spoken about why he believed emotion should be at the centre of any movie rather than focusing on how it is made. “A movie is a lot more than a series of shots,” he once said. “You end up making a film that is all tricks, with no people in it, no knowledge of life.”
And that’s precisely what a Cassavetes movie is, a slice of life where the pitfalls and victories of the human emotional experience are documented in striking reality. Not only has Cassavetes been the subject of much film theory and criticism, but he has also drawn the admiration of his fellow actors and directors.
For instance, both Martin Scorsese and his editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, have spoken of their love for Cassavetes, as has Austin Butler, Brie Larson and Michael Imperioli. Quite simply, Cassavetes was one of the most important figures in American independent cinema, and, as Carney notes, he was a true visionary of the medium.
