Product: Shadows [VHS] (1959)
Rating: 5.0
Musicians;nightclub owners;race;comedy;brothers;virginity;
Cassavetes' work has always not gone down the genre-driven, formulaic Hollywood studio system path. Rather, and Shadows is a fine example, he is ever asking the audience questions instead of providing cheap answers. The performances of the players are nothing short of brilliant for nonprofessional actors as are the New York locations. This is a bittersweet comedy which was supposed to be more of a comment on racism but later cutting and reshooting shaped the picture into more of a study on what drives us all: Emotion; instinct; stuff we don't even know about ourselves. I fell in love instantly with the Lelia character, played by Lelia Goldoni.