Simply Perfect

Brilliant and touching

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Gena Rowlands, known for her spell binding performances (especially in Cassavette films), gives perhaps her greatest performance yet as aging theater actress, Myrtile Gordon. Beloved by her peers and fans alike, she struggles with her latest role, having to play an aging woman, a role that forces her to face herself, a role she despises. That's on top of witnessing the death of a young, rabid fan. As the opening of the play, "Second Woman" comes closer, her downward mental spiral only worsens.It's hard to know what to say about this film. I've mentioned Rowland's performance, great as it is, is enhanced by fantastic cinematography.Shots such as Rowlands looking herself in the mirror, but in such a fashion that it appears someone is sitting next to her, the many well timed close ups of her face, among the many genius shots. This is the closest Cassavette has come to making a psychological thriller. Those familiar with "Black Swan" or even "Persona" will no doubt notice similarities, although as is usually the case with this director, it never fully fits any particular genre, only giving you shades of it. Anyone expecting any ultimate outcome or revelation will be disappointed. Is Myrtile's problem alcoholism? Is she simply insane? Is it all just about aging?Is it all of that? Like many things in life, it's much more likely to be a variety of factors, and it only aids the film in creating multiple layers to this dilemma rather than trying to build around one problem.The play within the movie (reportedly filmed in front of an undirected audience giving legitimate reactions), where often times Myrtile changes dialogue, goes off script, are less interesting than what goes on behind the scenes, however this doesn't hurt the film much, especially when, given the unpredictability of the lead actress, can go off at any moment in a completely unpredictable direction and become a further unveiling of the actors on stage. A big part of this film is the creative process, of the some times rigid adherence to script, to the very idea of staging emotions and feelings that are pre rendered into a script. Perhaps it's for this reason that the on stage antics don't feel as powerful, but ultimately beneficial to the film on a thematic level.Many, especially if used only to mainstream movies, might find this movie slow and confusing. Cassavette's style does take getting used to. Having watched other films of his however, I found this, despite it's near two and a half hour length, to be an easy sit with time flying by. Absolutely recommended.

When speaking of John Cassavetes' contribution to the cinema, 'Opening Night' often goes overlooked. A shame, because it's a great film in its own right.A character-driven drama about a stage actress's fall from grace, it follows Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) as she struggles with various personal problems (the death of a young fan, aging, alcoholism) in the time leading up to the premiere of a new play. 'Opening Night' also features Ben Gazzara as the theatre director and Cassavetes himself as one of the play's co-stars, with Cassavetes regulars like Peter Falk and Seymour Cassel providing bit-part roles.This is one of the director's most personal films, and one he spoke about with much pride in interviews. The stamp of his distinctive style is there (roving documentary-style camera-work, emphasis on acting) and the major themes in his own life at the time are reflected in the picture (theater, drinking problems, aging). Gena Rowlands gives a stellar performance, making Myrtle into a sort of tragic heroine, and the rest of the cast does well supporting her.Worth checking out for anyone interested in the art of acting or the work of John Cassavetes. 8/10.

"Opening Night" released in 1977, tries to be an ambitious production. It succeeds only in the truly stunning performance of Gena Rowlands. Her character of theatre actress Myrtle is not necessarily someone we would love in real life. She is self-absorbed, often obnoxious, and makes life miserable for those around her - in other words, not unlike some actresses! Myrtle is also a woman on the edge of collapse - we are not quite sure if the demons she is fighting are real or imagined, although we are let in on the secret early. Rowlands is obviously well directed with love by her gifted husband, actor/director John Cassavettes, who has a role in the film as well. This film is not without flaws - it is overly long, and the last part of the film where Myrtle goes on stage while very drunk seems almost cruel. The "improvising" in some of the dialogue - at least while on stage - goes on way too long. Some of the supporting characters give good performances, especially from Ben Gazarra, playing Myrtle's sleazy producer. Joan Blondell's character is never fully developed, and I never could figure out why she was in the film, except to placate Myrtle. See this film for Rowlands alone - she is fascinating throughout - and it is tough to take your eyes off her, although you will want to at times.

John Cassavetes' 1977 film Opening Night is, what critics usually call the work of such a significant artist, 'overlooked'. It is an excellent film, in its own right, and one of the best portraits of a midlife crisis ever put to film. It's not a perfect film, in that, at two hours and twenty four minutes it's about a half hour too long, and there's a bit too much emphasis on the drunkenness of the lead character Myrtle Gordon, played by Gena Rowlands, the wife of Cassavetes, long after we've gotten the point. But only Woody Allen's masterpiece, Another Woman, which also starred Rowlands, eleven years later, is a better portrait of the internal conflicts of an aging woman. Yet, Rowlands did win the Best Actress Award at the Berlin Film Festival for this portrayal, and it was well deserved. Often this film, written by Cassavetes, is easily compared to his earlier- and inferior- film, A Woman Under The Influence, but it's a spurious comparison. Rowlands' character in that film is severely mentally disturbed from the start, as well as coming from a blue collar background, while her characters in this film and in Allen's film are both artists who are haunted by apparitions. In this film it's the ghost of a dead young woman who can be seen as Myrtle's younger doppelganger, while in Allen's film it's her character's own past…. Many critics have taken this film to be a portrait of an alcoholic, seeing Myrtle surround herself with enablers, such as a stage manager who tells her, during opening night, 'I've seen a lot of drunks in my time, but I've never seen anyone as drunk as you who could stand up. You're great!', but this is wrong, for alcohol isn't her problem- nor is her chain smoking. They are merely diversions from whatever thing is really compelling her to her own destruction, and much to Cassavetes' credit, as a storyteller, he never lets us find out exactly what's wrong with Myrtle, and despite her coming through in the end, there's no reason to expect that she has really resolved anything of consequence. This sort of end without resolution links Cassavetes directly with the more daring European directors of the recent past, who were comfortable in not revealing everything to an audience, and forcing their viewers to cogitate, even if it hurts.Yet, the film recapitulates perfectly the effect of a drunk or fever lifting out of the fog, and as such the viewer again is subliminally involved in its drama. Whether or not Myrtle Gordon does recover, after the film's universe irises about her is left for each and every viewer to decide, and as we have seen before that lid closes, one's choices do matter.