Plot

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, Rovi

Review

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, Mia Farrow (also featured in the film) and Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-yi Previn. 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, Rovi

Cast

• Woody Allen - Gabe Roth
• Judy Davis - Sally
• Mia Farrow - Judy Roth
• Sydney Pollack - Jack
• Juliette Lewis - Rain

Liam Neeson - Michael; Lysette Anthony - Sam; Blythe Danner - Rain's Mother; Cristi Conaway - Shawn Grainger; Tim Jerome - Paul; Ron Rifkin - Rain's Analyst; Jerry Zaks - Dinner Party Guest; Bruce Jay Friedman - Peter Styles; Benno Schmidt - Judy's Ex-Husband; Jeffrey Kurland - Narrator; Caroline Aaron - Dinner Party Guest; Ron August - Rain's Ex-Lover; Irene Blackman - Receptionist; Merv Bloch - Birthday Party Guest; Galaxy Craze - Harriet; John Doumanian - Hampton's Party Guest; Kenneth Edelson - Gabe's Novel Montage; Matthew Flint - Rain's Boyfriend; Jessica Frankston - Birthday Party Guest; Rebecca Glenn - Gail; Lisa Gustin - Gabe's Novel Montage; Philip Levy - Taxi Dispatcher; Brian McConnachie - Rain's Father; Adelaide Mestre - Banducci Family Member; Nick Metropolis - TV Scientist; Anthony Nocerino - Gabe's Novel Montage; Connie Picard - Banducci Family Member; Steve Randazzo - Banducci Family Member; Gordon Rigsby - Hampton's Party Guest; Victor Truro - Gabe's Novel Montage; Tony Turco - Banducci Family Member; Michelle Turley - Gabe's Novel Montage; Ira Wheeler - Dinner Party Guest; Nora Ephron - Dinner Party Guest; Kenny Vance - Gabe's Novel Montage; Jack Richardson - Dinner Party Guest

Credit

Speed Hopkins - Art Director, Thomas A. Reilly - Associate Producer, Juliet Taylor - Casting, Joseph Hartwick - Co-producer, Helen Robin - Co-producer, Jeffrey Kurland - Costume Designer, Woody Allen - Director, Susan E. Morse - Editor, Charles H. Joffe - Executive Producer, Jack Rollins - Executive Producer, Fern Buchner - Makeup, Santo Loquasto - Production Designer, Carlo Di Palma - Cinematographer, Robert Greenhut - Producer, Susan Bode-Tyson - Set Designer, Woody Allen - Screenwriter

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