“There’s nothing I despise more than being entertained.” This is a quote John Cassavetes told scholar and author Ray Carney, later published in Carney’s 2001 book Cassavetes on Cassavetes. John Cassavetes didn’t make films to transport us. He made films to turn the mirror on ourselves, showing us the grit and drama of relationships, success, failure, and violence.
In a way, Cassavetes is the antithesis of what I want in a filmmaker. I want escapism. I want a movie that’s punchy and exciting. Cassavetes, on the other hand, wants you to work for it. He wants to test your patience and leave you hanging with an uncomfortable moment for as long as possible. Nothing is obvious. If there ever was an “art over profit” filmmaker, it was Cassavetes.
These are the observations I’ve made after seeing only two Cassavetes movies, Shadows and this one, so I’ve got a lot to learn, if I have the discipline to pay attention. I knew Cassavetes’ movies had a lingering, freeform style. What I didn’t realize until later was how goddamn long his movies are. This movie is 135 minutes of people puttering around and it feels like it.
I’m not trying to oversimplify, there’s a lot of nuance in this film. As Cassavetes has stated, he liked to capture actors’ mannerisms and gestures, the little things. Which is why shots linger. I love this approach for the performances, not as much for the storytelling, but it’s a compelling experiment, especially with a story like this.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie follows Cosmo Vitelli (Cassavetes regular Ben Gazzara), a charismatic Los Angeles strip club owner whose life unravels after a night of reckless gambling leaves him indebted to the local mob. To settle his debt, Cosmo is coerced into carrying out a killing, forcing him to navigate the criminal underworld and come out the other side in one piece.
One thing I do like about Cassavetes is that his movies all star his middle-aged actor friends. It’s a nice change of pace from the hot young heartthrobs of New Hollywood. Ben Gazzara is 46 years old in this movie. Seeing him in his leisure suit with his receding hairline and perpetual frown is such a different vibe from what I’m used to. It’s a midlife-crisis crime movie at a time when films like that were far from common.
I enjoy watching Ben Gazzara try to charm his way through interactions with beautiful women and no-nonsense gangsters played by veteran character actors like Timothy Carey and Seymour Cassel. Later, it’s fascinating to watch the last guy you’d ever expect carry out such a dangerous job. If only Cassavetes cared about things like pacing and rhythm.
I spent a good amount of time distracted by my phone, rewinding scenes to understand what I’d missed or what the characters were talking about. I wish someone had taken away my phone and locked me in a small, poorly ventilated independent theater to watch this movie as it was intended. Cassavetes wants you to live in Cosmo’s world, not just visit it.
If another 1976 drama like Rocky is a bag of M&M’s, then The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is black licorice. It’s an acquired taste, but I’m always up for expanding my palate. Maybe if I keep watching Cassavetes movies, I’ll develop a taste for him. As of now, I’ll just nibble and reflect, sprawled out in my leisure suit.