[The characters'] volatile mix of emotions and overlapping virtues and vices make for a wild and harrowing ride.

Mr. Cassavetes' direction has noiseless-needle precision. Young Man With a Horn may have been plusher and Pete Kelly's Blues gaudier -- and both more entertaining -- but we'll take Mr. Cassavetes' head-on honesty.

It's pretentious, lugubrious, mawkish, and full of both naivete and macho bluster. It also has moments that are indelible and heartbreaking.

While other films produced within the studio system share themes and archetypes with Too Late Blues, none quite achieve the honest brutality of Cassavetes' fractured visual style and bitter script.