HUSBANDS AND WIVES
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
120 min., R, Comedy/Drama, 1992 Director: Woody Allen Cast: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Juliette Lewis, Sidney Pollack, Judy Davis, Liam Neeson, Cristi Conaway, Blythe Danner
Woody Allen's newest film, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, focuses mainly on two couples. The first couple, Allen, and often co-star, Mia Farrow, are having problems with their relationship, but neither wants to break it to the other. The second couple, Sidney Pollack and Judy Davis, are breaking up.
HUSBANDS AND WIVES is definitely not one of Allen's best films. The only people who I can suggest this film to are big fans of Woody's work, and for those I can only recommend that they see it on video cassette. On a scale of zero to five, I give HUSBANDS AND WIVES a two. HUSBANDS AND WIVES is rated R for explicit language, adult situations, adult humor, and brief female nudity.
The biggest problem with this film is the camera techniques used. The film at least looks like it was shot with a hand held camera, so motion is very jerky. At some points when the camera pans to follow somebody moving, it moves so quickly that everything becomes blurry. If more professional looking camera techniques had been used, the film would probably have gotten a rating between a three and a four (with reservations).
The other main problem with this film is that at some points it seems to want to be a comedy, whereas in others it seems to want to be a drama. If the film had been evened out so that the comedy and drama was equal in each scene, the film would have ended up much better. If viewed as a drama, forgetting about the few comic bits and ignoring the horrendous feeling I got from the camera work in the opening scene, HUSBANDS AND WIVES is able to squeak a three out of me.
One other distraction that comes to mind is the frequent jump cuts that disrupt the viewing. All of the cast does a wonderful job and in that aspect this film is perfect. Another good aspect of the film is the documentary type style that Woody uses. It is original and makes up for some of the lousier parts of the film. The hand held camera works in the rooms with the interviewer because I got the feeling that I was there in the room watching what was going on.
I much preferred Woody's other film that was released this year in my area, SHADOWS AND FOG, although that didn't get as good reviews from the critics. My suggestion, rent the video for HUSBANDS AND WIVES (when it comes out, of course) along with your favorite Woody film (mine is EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX* BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK) which will make up for the disappointing parts of this film.
-------- Ken Johnson blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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