Ah, John Cassavetes. Few filmmakers so perfectly wear the Outsider label as this pioneering and hugely influential actor-turned-director, and it's thus no suprise that he is regarded with some awe in the is quarter of the film watching world. We've all got our favourites – I know I'm not the only one with a serious thing for The Killing of a Chinese Bookie – but the Cassavetes film that seems to have found most favour with a wider audience is his 1971 Minnie & Moskowitz. And you know what? It is rather wonderful.
Museum curator Minnie Moore's life has not turned out how she expected. She's a divorcee who's just turned 40, with a boyfriend Jim who's married to someone else. A nasty break-up and a blind date that goes horribly wrong lead to a chance encounter with parking lot attendant Seymour Moskowitz. Seymour falls in love at first site with Minnie, professing that "I'm so crazy about you I forget to go to the bathroom." Can he convince his seemingly polar opposite to fall in love with him?
A low budget romantic comedy-drama that is so much more than that half-categorisation suggests, Minnie & Moskowitz was something of a family affair, starring Cassavetes' wife, the extraordinary Gena Rowlands, alongside his mother Katherine Cassavetes, his brother-in-law David Rowlands and several of his children as extras. It also stars two of the director's frequent collaborators, Timothy Carey and the wonderful Seymour Cassel. Oh, it's just great.
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Minnie & Moskowitz makes its UK DVD debut on 4 April 2011 courtesy of Mr Bongo Films at the RRP of £12.99. No extras have been listed. |