"Opening Night" - 148

About this episode

This episode reviews the film 'Opening Night', focusing on the performances and direction by Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes.

"Opening Night" is a film about acting and a film about aging. Trying to make sense of a role is hard when you are drowning yourself in alcohol. It's hard to cope with loss when your career is on the line. Gena Rowlands, who plays the lead character, Myrtle, is pure tour de force acting. This film is a masterclass of not only acting but cinema overall. John Cassavetes directed this film and he broke the rules of cinema with this film. It shows that you can do whatever you want however you want as long as you make it sense to yourself. To make something of your own, you gotta make sure it even makes sense. I love that Cassavetes made a film where Rowland's characters went through hard trials and tribulations. In this podcast, I talk about the amazing acting played by Rowlands and the cast included. I talk about how Cassavetes uses the space of not only the stage but the venue itself to create a feel of the audience being there witnessing Rowlands act and as well Cassavetes himself. I also talk about how all this acting and meaning derives from what I feel is a strong screenplay written by Cassavetes. You witness the layers and personalities of the characters and how they work with…

People in this episode

Host: Ray Salazar

Topics covered

• acting
• aging
• cinema
• film review
• screenplay
• character development

Keywords

• Opening Night
• Gena Rowlands
• John Cassavetes
• acting
• film review
• cinema
• screenplay

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Opening Night

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