#Cassavetes

[ashstfu]

john cassavetes on the lack of communication between people

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Opening Night (John Cassavetes, 1977)

[gena-rowlands]

JOHN CASSAVETES | MIKEY AND NICKY (1976) DIR. BY ELAINE MAY

[mudwerks]

(via Gena Rowlands, Actress Who Bought Raw Drama to Her Roles, Dies at 94 - The New York Times)

Ms. Rowlands in the 1980 film “Gloria,” directed by Mr. Cassavetes, in which she starred as a gangster’s moll on the run with an orphaned boy.

Gena Rowlands, the intense, elegant dramatic actress who, often in collaboration with her husband, John Cassavetes, starred in a series of introspective independent films, has died. She was 94.

[yeahiwasintheshit]

so i watched john cassavetes' 'a woman under the influence' the other night, and hooboy was that an intense movie. with an amazing performance by gena rowlands as mabel. and peter falk is great in it too. but boy is this a hard watch. you just feel bad for all these people, especially mabel. shes clearly a person in distress and she just doesnt have the people in her life that can help. not only cant help, but make her situation worse. what adds to the intensity is the way its shot, it almost feels like a documentary of this family. natural light, natural performances, natural dialogue. rowlands and falk really become these people. the thing is you also really like them. falk's character nicky really does some horrible horrible shit, and you end up feeling like hes the one mentally worse off by the end, because almost every decision he makes is wrong. but he clearly loves his wife, who is a very sick person, he just doesnt know what the right thing to do is. theres no excuse for his abuse, its bad, and hes a lousy father, but falk is such a charismatic and sorta lovable presence, you dont necessarily forgive him, there just arent any villains in the movie.

theyre just this sad family who are dealing with this mental illness, that they dont really understand, nor does the society around them. when she goes to the hospital for 6 months, and the day she comes back and nicky invites a house full of people to celebrate, you just want to strangle the guy, but its coming from a pure place of wanting to make a normal house, but its so hard to watch. plus the doctor who commits her seems to have encouraged the party, so thats another part of it, but what a bad decision. then theyre at the table and hes yelling that he wants her to have a normal conversation, and this poor woman is locked and stuck. she doesnt know what to do. the gif above is so heart wrenching. shes saying this to her father, and ooof it knocks it right out of you. that whole final third of the movie is notched up to a level 11, which is like watching a horror movie. everyone does the wrong thing for this suffering woman, and she reacts accordingly. its also hard to watch it from a 2024 perspective cause you know she could prob live a better life today with the right meds, and the right medical information for her and nicky to deal with her illness.

anyway ive been sitting on writing a review of it cause i almost didnt know what to say, cause its a lot. and maybe thats part of the problem. there are parts of the movie that are at an 11 for so long you almost shaking watching it. its a good movie with an amazing, and shocking and almost too real performance by gena rowlands (who is still alive today. shes 93) in parts it really does feel like a horror movie youre watching between your fingers. but it is really good. worth watching for her performance alone

john cassavetes is considered the father of independent movies, and i think this may be considered his best movie. he was nominated for best director and rowlands was nominated for best actress that year. so im glad i watched it, but dont have any plans rewatching anytime soon at least.

[wantsneedsandloves]

RIP Gena Rowlands

[davidskeet]

Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion, Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby and Isabelle Adjani in The Tenant. Polanski's apartment trilogy

[divortion]

[ceooftheshitshow]

[lejournaldupeintre]

Gena Rowlands

Gena Rowlands, actress of unparalleled excellence, dies at 94 She received Oscar noms for ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ and ‘Gloria,’ was wonderful in ‘The Notebook’ and changed the course of American independent film with her late husband, John Cassavetes. Gena Rowlands, the wife and muse of John Cassavetes whose unvarnished abilities found in such films as Faces, A Woman Under the…

[lieutenant-columbro]

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)

[3080ti]

Scope #2 (2000)

[mudwerks]

(via Pulp International - Two vintage promo images of Gena Rowlands as Gloria)

[manderley]

Gena Rowlands in

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

[389]

Gena Rowlands in Gloria (1980) dir. John Cassavetes