So much of John's work was self-indulgent alcohol-induced nonsense.

John, John, John......much love. So daring, so intense, with a crackle of violence/chaos palpable beneath the surface. This film comes almost as close as Richard Yates book 'Revolutionary Road" in seeming to portray something honest about life and love especially as regards the middle class. No, it's not a slickly polished effort but fortunately John knew that there's much more to character based story telling. He made this film with his own money. The actors were paid on a deferred basis. The small crew lived with him and Gena in their home for more than a year. Every set and most of the equipment were either loaned to him for free or "borrowed'. And yet movies today, costing ridiculous amounts of money, don't come close to being this compelling or this groundbreaking. "Blue Valentine" for instance, a close cousin, tries but never really gets at the nugget and overall is too concerned with its indie aesthetic. John's incredible ability to write the way that people talk (no this is not improvised) and film so viscerally makes him one of the most inspiring directors in film history.

Let's film some academic improv sessions at the Cassavetes School of Method Acting.Exercise One [Act 1]:
"Okay everybody, pretend you're drunk and just let your inhibitions go. ... and ... ACTION!"Exercise Two [Act 2, Scene 1]:
"It's the next day; now have a conversation with someone else that develops a character relationship to the previous evening. ... ROLL 'EM!"Etc . . . etc . . . et cetera.This is either brilliant Avant Garde film-making, or pompous self-indulgence. You make up your own mind.

Amazingly real, and orignal!!

this movie sucks big time.