Gena Rowlands turns in another virtuoso performance as the troubled actress. Cassavetes' highly personal work will please his coterie of enthusiasts, but for general audiences it will be viewed as shrill, puzzling, depressing and overlong.
Overview
Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about aging. One night a car kills one of Myrtle's fans who is chasing her limousine in an attempt to get the star's attention. Myrtle internalizes the accident and goes on a spiritual quest, but fails to finds the answers she is after. As opening night inches closer and closer, fragile Myrtle must find a way to make the show go on.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Juggling onstage and offstage action, Cassavetes makes this a fascinating look at some of the internal mechanisms and conflicts that create theatrical fiction.
At once a lament to the ravages of age and an examination of those tiny foibles which separate reality from dramatic artifice, it's a baffling and intricate film which, although light on conventional pleasures, still manages to provoke and beguile.
Rowlands sings a different kind of mad song in Opening Night, playing a diva-like actress preparing a part about aging that haunts her, at times literally, with a vision of lost youth.
The scenes in which Myrtle consults first one and then another spiritualist are typical of Cassavetes's genius in filming madness.
More films
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · R
Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against expectations. As a New Year's resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. Her charming boss takes an interest in her, and she cannot stop running into a rather disagreeable acquaintance whom Br...
- Runtime
- 1h 37m
- Director
- Sharon Maguire
- Cast
- Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant
Stalker (1979)
Drama · Science Fiction · Not Rated
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.
- Runtime
- 2h 42m
- Director
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Cast
- Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn
Secret Window (2004)
Mystery · Thriller · PG-13
Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger and would-be scribe who claims Rainey swiped his best story idea. But as Rainey endeavors to prove his innocence, he begins to question his own sanity.
- Runtime
- 1h 36m
- Director
- David Koepp
- Cast
- Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello
Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Comedy · Drama · History · R
A Texas congressman sets a series of events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviets.
- Runtime
- 1h 42m
- Director
- Mike Nichols
- Cast
- Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julia Roberts
Hancock (2008)
Action · Fantasy · PG-13
Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip...
- Runtime
- 1h 32m
- Director
- Peter Berg
- Cast
- Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
The Lorax (2012)
Animation · Family · PG
A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
- Runtime
- 1h 26m
- Director
- Kyle Balda, Chris Renaud
- Cast
- Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms
Home Makeover (2010)
Animation · Comedy · Family · N/A
When a social worker visits Gru’s house to assess its suitability for children, chaos ensues. Margo, Edith, and Agnes, along with the ever-mischievous Minions, scramble to give the home a makeover in record time. Their attempts to create a warm and inviting environment quickly spiral into hilarity as the Minions’ unorthodox methods lea...
- Runtime
- 5m
- Director
- Kyle Balda, Samuel Tourneux
- Cast
- Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Kate Fisher
Orientation Day (2010)
Animation · Comedy · Family · N/A
The Minions embark on their first day of work, eager to prove themselves in their new roles. After watching a hilariously outdated 'Initiation Video,' three rookie Minions take on bomb-carrying duty. Predictably, their enthusiasm quickly spirals into chaos as they bungle the simplest of tasks. Packed with slapstick comedy and the Minio...
- Runtime
- 4m
- Director
- Kyle Balda, Samuel Tourneux
- Cast
- Pierre Coffin, Rob Huebel







Comments
Talk about the film with other members