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Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Just as Jean Luc Godard was one of the pioneers of the French New Wave, John Cassavetes was the pioneer of American independent films. Shadows, Cassavettes' debut film, was released in 1959, the same year as Godard's groundbreaking Breathless. Just as influential as Breathless, Cassavetes' film, made entirely outside of the studio system, sparked the beginning of the American indie movement.

Shadows tells the story of three siblings, Hugh, Leila, and Ben. While they are all African Americans, Ben and Leila have light complexions and are often mistaken as whites. Leila's romance with her two suitors is the center point of the film. One of them, David, a handsome black man, knows that she is black; while the other one, Tony (who is white) does not. She falls in love with David, but when he sees her brother Hugh, and realizes that she is black, he rejects her. Leila's brother Ben tries to become a musician, and the dark skinned Hugh struggles to be a jazz singer. They both try to guide their sister through her difficult time. Considering that all scenes were improvised, the three actors should be lauded for their performances.

Cassavetes had several distinctive styles. One is his reliance on improvisation. Shadows was filmed without a script. Cassavetes would just tell the actors what to say to help them "improvise". Another thing is his fascination of human facial expressions. Unsurprisingly, one trademark feature of his films is the close-up. His close-ups were often shot from unusual angles and lingered on, and this has several effects.

First of all, a close-up has a naturally dramatic effect, it brings the audience closer to the subject, and it deprives us of setting and is therefore disorienting and claustrophobic. More often than not, Cassavetes did not use establishing shots in the beginnings of scenes, and went to close-ups right away. By this method, the audience is forced to figure out what is going on and in return gains a better understanding of the point Cassavetes tried to make. A Cassavetes film rarely tells us what is going on; instead we are shown episodes as they would happen in real life. How we interpret them is all up to us.

Cassavetes' close-ups were always shot from unconventional angles, and sometimes he would play with the aspect ratio and made part of the actor's face out of frame, but they often create striking visual images. For example, in Shadows, there are a number of close-ups shot from the unusual position of behind the ears of the actors.

In Shadows, and in other Cassavetes' films, the close-ups sometimes linger on the actors' faces longer than 'necessary', sometimes without sound. In doing so, Cassavettes had manipulated time. When the audience is unable to see the settings, it is difficult for them to relate to time. In result, it forces the audience to formulate interpretations during this time.

In summary, what separates a John Cassavettes film and mainstream Hollywood pictures is that a Cassavetes' film rarely tells the audience what to think, it is all up to the individual, just like real life.

Shadows is one of the most influential films in American cinema. The film itself is actually quite uneven, in fact, it sometimes seems amateurish, but it is important precisely because it was made with such offhandedness. Cassavetes' film has transcended the norm of polished filmmaking so prevalent in Hollywood. Just like the jazz music on its soundtrack, Shadows introduced to the audience the new realm of filmmaking in America.

Directed by John Cassavetes; produced by Maurice McEndree; released by Lion International Films. Running time: eighty-seven minutes.

Hugh . . . . . Hugh Hurd Lelia . . . . . Lelia Goldoni Ben . . . . . Ben Carruthers Tony . . . . . Anthony Ray Dennis . . . . . Dennis Sallas Tom . . . . . Tom Allen David . . . . . David Pokitillow Rupert . . . . . Rupert Crosse David . . . . . David Jones Pir . . . . . Pir Marini Victoria . . . . . Victoria Vargas Jack . . . . . Jack Ackerman Jacqueline . . . . . Jacqueline Walcott