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Last night we watched Harvey (1950). I’ve watched this Jimmy Stewart movie numerous times, last night I really noticed how taoist the protagonist, Elwood P. Dowd is. Elwood is a child-like guy with a 6′4 Rabbit (Harvey) as a best friend. In the first scene, he accepts an official letter from the mailman while saying that everyday is a beautiful day, then Elwood casually tears up the letter without opening it; his mind so empty, he’s like an idiot. Both Harvey and Elwood enjoy their martinis. The drinking and the embarassment of him having an imaginary friend has motivated Elwood’s sister Vita to try to institutionalize Elwood. This turn of events really brings out Elwood’s taoist nature. He doesn’t reject anyone, he doesn’t take sides; Elwood welcomes saints and sinners alike (he invites nearly everyone from a ex-con to a psychologist over for dinner). He gets to know the taxi driver while Vita is inside signing the commitment papers. Vita is emotional and neurotic, Elwood is calm and content, acting without expectations. He chats with the nurse, then another nurse, he has nothing to prove so people trust his words. Elwood doesn’t force things, while there is much confusion among the psychiatric staff about whether it is Vita or Elwood who needs the help, Elwood continues to be approachable to everyone, leading without imposing his will, and the plot unfolds through the nonaction of Elwood. He gives them nothing to oppose. He lets the demands made on him come and go, without desire. He also seems to work with the mind of others, recognizing the amorous connection between the nurse, Miss Kelly, and Dr. Sanderson, the psychologist. This mild matchmaking is also done without expectations. Despite the attempts of others (perhaps with a bit of help from a taxi driver) Elwood endures as a martini drinker and a very plesant person.

This past week I’ve watched four Cassavetes movies, two lite new releases, and the last thirty five minutes of the Academy Awards. The Oscars were predictable. As were the new releases (even the plot twists were cliches if not outright a remake). I feel cautious about seeing any of the Oscar sweeping films. People have told me the two main winners are good, they stay with you. I am skeptical. Especially after seeing A Woman Under The Influence directed by John Cassavetes. That movie stays with you more that I think a recent Oscar winner would. Cassavetes characters are consistantly unpredictable and human. The awkward silence after someone yells at the dinner table are felt palpably on this side of the screen. The film is about a housewife that appears to be crazy. Mostly, it’s about the people in her life trying to cope with emotions related to Mabel’s behavior but also resisting sympathy for Mabel’s plight; they want to believe they are different from her. Faces shows the last stage of deterioration of a marriage, when each half of the couple is acting out in desperation. The end result is ambiguous. Cassavetes challenges the viewers expectations to the point of discomfort. Then there’s the slapping. In all of his movies, someone will be slapped. At first I thought this odd and extreme then I watched the documentary A Constant Forge that is included in the John Cassavetes - Five Films - Criterion Collection and realized the slapping is a last attempt to wake someone out of their coma. The seemingly real-time pacing creates an intimacy that lacks in recent Hollywood releases. Cassavetes movies are about people, regular people who aren’t so smart or special, having these breaking-point moments. The characters’ actions remind me that although we’d like to think we’re above and beyond the crazy behavior in his movies, nobody is. We’re human thus cruel and tender simultaneously.