Shadows

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Luca D Completely overated. Watch a bunch of half decent actors live in an apartment together for an hour and a half only for the ending to resolve because there is no conflict or plot to begin with. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/23/23 Full Review Christopher B A film made using improvisation performances from it's talented cast, Shadows was the first film by director John Cassavetes and was made with a meager budget of $40,000. The film obviously focuses fully on the story and issues at hand and the brief 82 minute runtime flies by as the film keeps going full steam ahead. A great drama piece exploring the, rare at the time, issue with interracial relationships and is a genuine and realistic approach to the ideals explored. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/01/22 Full Review William L Shadows doesn't meet the same bar of technical competence that Cassavetes would bring to his later films, but it's a debut effort so some leeway can be given in that department. As a film on race that takes place between ordinary people without massive direct implications (in 1959, no less), Shadows shows a more conventional form of uneasy prejudice rather than a cross-burning, white-hooded disdain. The entire film hinges on a moment in which Ray's Tony realizes that Goldoni's Lelia, the woman he spent the previous night with, was actually black by virtue of her brothers' darker skin tone; objectively, nothing about her has changed from the moments of awkward intimacy that they shared before, but now Tony finds himself reconsidering his position as a result of his prejudice. There are no violent outbursts or theatrics, just mumbled excuses and uneasy glances. It's a nuance you wouldn't expect from a film that predates the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement, it must have been something to see upon release; in a modern context, it's not a mountain mover and doesn't necessarily compare well to some of Cassavetes' later work, but it's a solid first film for the rising American director. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/28/21 Full Review Audience Member At it's best, it's a groundbreaking experimental film that opened the doors to a new wave of independent filmmaking a decade before Easy Rider. At it's worst, it's a mess that gets lost in it's experiment, and may lose the viewer at times too. Nevertheless, Cassavetes improvisational approach to filmmaking opened the doors to countless others who would go on to refine what he founded. Any of us who call ourselves filmmakers are indebted to his pioneering. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member The best movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member It was an interesting experiment, but it just doesn't work for me. With all the jump cuts and shoddy audio I can't bring myself to say that this film is good. It could have been executed much better. At the end of the day, the improvisation seems to be a cheap gimmick to get people to forgive the messiness of the film. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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