Synopsis
Opening Night (1977) is John Cassavetes' American drama you can watch online on iFILM. The film stars Gena Rowlands as Myrtle Gordon, a Broadway actress days away from her next premiere, with Cassavetes himself, Ben Gazzara and Joan Blondell filling out the cast. It was distributed by Faces Distribution and has never left the shortlist of essential American independent cinema.
The night a young fan is struck by a car while chasing Myrtle's limousine, something in Myrtle quietly breaks. She starts drinking through rehearsals, locks into a fight with the director over how the role should be played — a woman falling apart with age — and begins seeing the dead girl wherever she turns. The play she is supposed to perform is about a woman she refuses to become, and the line between character and actress dissolves a little more each day.
Cassavetes held on Rowlands' face when other directors would have cut away, and that relentlessness is exactly what gives the film its grip. Rowlands is on screen in a way that feels almost indecent in its honesty. Stream Opening Night (1977) online on iFILM.
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