Rent Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)

Love in the Slow Lane: Cassavetes’ Offbeat Romance - Minnie and Moskowitz review by griggs

Cassettes has a knack for capturing messy, unfiltered human connection, but here the mess threatens to overwhelm the meal. Minnie and Moskowitz follows a mismatched pair — a disillusioned museum curator and a brash, moustachioed parking attendant — through a courtship that lurches between abrasive comedy and raw confession.

There are flashes of the director’s usual brilliance: awkward silences that say more than the dialogue, sudden emotional pivots that feel utterly real. Yet the film stretches itself thin, repeating beats until they lose their charge. Seymour Cassel barrels through scenes with anarchic charm, while Gena Rowlands remains magnetic even when the script traps her in the same emotional cul-de-sac.

For all its ambition, this isn’t Cassavetes operating at full power. The eccentric romance has its moments, but they’re scattered, buried under indulgent pacing and uneven tone. It’s a curiosity for fans, not a calling card for newcomers.