I've had a Cassavetes boxset sitting on my shelf for about four years now, I figured it was about time I actually watched one of the films.

All the hyperbole and acclaim about this film praises it for being a new beginning for american cinema, while I can see why it's regarded in this way, I mainly see a first time director finding his feet.

More of a series of vignettes of New York City life in 1959 than a plot driven film it feels quite awkward and clumsy at times. With many things just seem to happen with no real reason or consequence, poor overdubbing and scenes sometimes ending in the middle of a sentence, this is very amateur in feel, however it's very stylish with enough creative flashes to interest me in where the director went next.