New York. Gabe, a literature professor, and his wife, Judy, are shocked upon finding out that their friends, Jack and Sally, are filing for divorce. Jack finds a younger new lover, Sam, and thinks she is great in bed, but soon has to conclude that she is very immature and incompatible, so he reconciles with Sally. In the meantime, Gabe starts talking with his student, Rain, who is a great admirer of his. During a rainy night, they kiss, but Gabe decides to not pursue this any further. However, Gabe's wife Judy leaves him to be with another man, Michael.
Unjustifiably overshadowed by Woody Allen's infamous break-up with Mia Farrow, who here ironically plays his wife leaving him, excellent "Husbands and Wives" offers far more than many other movies exploring the theme of human relationships, managing to be both realistically intimate and artistically satisfying. Already the opening scene manages to set up an engaging intro, staying true to Allen's typical comic taste: on TV, a man mentions Einstein's quote: "God doesn't play dice with the Universe!", upon which Allen's character Gabe changes the channel and comments: "No, he plays hide-and-seek with the Universe!" Unlike his previous, static films, this one is untypical for Allen: he uses hand-held cameras with sudden, shaky pans, even jump cuts that interrupt Gabe in the middle of a sentence, making one wonder if he was the first to use this documentary-like style, before Dogme 95. However, he always forces the viewers to engage more with the characters than with his style. The bitter story sums up a harsh, sad truth, namely that people can either find someone who is sexually compatible with them, or spiritually compatible, but that they cannot find a person who is both, which causes a disappointing "marital dichotomy". Following this disillusionment that destroys the idealism of a perfect love, Allen managed to tap onto some deeper truths in life, yet he still has more than enough inspired jokes, all of which stem from his writing, from "Art doesn't imitate life, it imitates bad Television", up to Gabe's very sympathetic quote in which he compares Turgenev to a fine "dessert" but Dostoevsky to a "real meal with Vitamins". Even though he was disputed by some critics, Allen really had an incredibly proliferate creative phase spanning over three decades, from the 70s up to the 90s, when he made one great film after another, and always had new ideas.
Grade:+++
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