Husbands and Wives (1992)

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Directed by Woody Allen.

Starring Judy Davis, Mia Farrow, Juliette Lewis, Woody Allen, Sydney Pollack.

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One of Woody Allen's most seemingly biographical films, Husbands and Wives opens with upper-middle class Manhattan couple Sally (Judy Davis) and Jack (Sydney Pollack) announcing to their best friends, the Roths, that they are splitting up. Gabe Roth (Allen) and his wife Judy (Mia Farrow) are taken aback by their casual revelation. Jack begins dating his dim, but sexy, aerobics instructor and Sally starts up a tentative romance with Michael (Liam Neeson). Gabe and Judy begin analyzing their marriage, discovering that they might not be meant to stay together. English professor Gabe begins a serious flirtation with a student of his named Rain (Juliette Lewis) and Judy begins to have feelings for Michael. Eventually, Sally and Jack reconcile, but have not improved their relationship. Gabe and Judy end up going their separate ways. Husbands and Wives was seemingly influenced by Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Husbands and Wives (1992, USA, ...
by CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"Husbands and Wives is one of Woody Allen's more interesting films, taking his usual themes and presenting with a new style. The concept should be very familer to the director's fans: the romatic intrigues of two married couples, with the seemingly stable marridge of Gabe and Judy (Woody Allen and Mia Farrow) and the just broken up pair of Jack and Sally (Sydney Pollack and Judy Davis). What alters the film from Allen's typical technique is that it is shot in documentary style, with shaky, handheld camera work, choppy cutting and interviews with the film's characters. This technique means that unlike most Allen's films, he does not editoralize as much as observe and report. We see what happens and the interviewer asks questions, but the character's accoutns are unreliable, we don't know what they are really thinking what the true analsis of the situation is. The fact that the characters themeseleves are often unsure what of what they want adds to the confusion. In a way, this te ... " [More]

BONER JAMS '03.
by P3X984 in P3X984 Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"To all of you who saw that embarrassing, border-line incomprehensible and hastily removed post from a while ago - I'm sorry for being weird about it and I hope this serves as an explanation of some kind. Officially "breaking up"(so-to-speak) a month after the fact is a weird, weird thing. But, good ultimately. i guess. No. It's good. It's completely terrifying and hard, but good and necessary. Closure is truly an amazing feeling, I've found. It was great to talk, and learn about scary new jobs and new long-distance boyfriends and other things I would have not missed out on knowing about if we weren't being so stupid. We talked everything out, and I could tell that it was a good conversation because I lost my appetite and wanted to cry. driving home and listening to a mix* I later found out was made for her by the new boyfriend before he headed home to LA, I kind of did a little. These were straight up hardcore over-the-top "I love you" jams that completely tore me up late 2004. ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

A docudrama style look at infidelity and marriage amongst a group of fortysomethings, this penetrating film by Woody Allen contains all of his signature one-liners and New York valentines, but with a refreshing sense of irony and brittle humor. Husbands and Wives doesn't stray much from his dissections of romance past, which include the remarkable Annie Hall, but this newer film features a self-reflexive nature absent from many of his previous efforts. The cast is uniformly first-rate, especially Judy Davis as the film's foremost neurotic, and a welcome addition to writer-director Allen's gallery of fine female portrayals. Interestingly, the film opened after a highly publicized real-life scandal involving Allen and his involvement with his adopted daughter with wife Mia Farrow (also featured in the film). Many critics noted that watching this film was like peering into the private lives of its principal characters, especially in a film whose key theme is remaining faithful in a rocky marriage. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Tags: poignant , pessimistic , extramaritalaffair , divorce , friendship
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