@trents3515

3 years ago

interesting. my reaction to some of the Cassavetes stuff was to consider him a brute rather than an artist. like a blind man continually telling others what he sees, i figured he couldn't really feel, which is why he was so over the top in everything he did. now, after listening to Falk (truly, one of the greatest actors of his generation - in part, it seems, due to the challenging influence of Cassavetes), i must trust his judgment. Falk said Cassavetes felt love and saw with unusual clarity the ways in which people could fall short of realizing it. so, Cassavetes maybe did actually feel TOO much. that, possibly, could explain the drinking, too, although there are other possibilities there (like an addictive personality or someone dead inside who needs to feel constantly stimulated). provided that Falk is giving the straight skinny here, i guess Cassavetes was a bit of a madman (conceded by Falk when he said Cassavetes housed everything within him in the extremist form) like i thought but also an idealist, too. it has long been apparent to me that Cassavetes was a force (clearly, his personality even overcame his own actors in an uncomfortable way as they can end up sounding like him) but maybe there was some - or a lot - of soul behind it all. i don't know. all i know is he was on the right track in trying to elicit authentic expression from his actors. everything else is much less interesting. i feel the same way when taking pictures, for instance - if it's staged, it's worthless. Cassavetes saying that he would rather work in a sewer than do a film he didn't like does speak to a deep feeling of regard for his profession and his output, which is a sign of a talented individual. so, much respect to Falk and Cassavetes. may they both RIP. they accomplished a lot, which i still enjoy to this day. i may spend years more trying to understand all this.

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