getting hooked

Published: Thursday, October 31, 1996

Thursday, October 31, 1996

In the upcoming 'Unhook the Stars,' Academy Award winning actress Gena Rowlands takes advantage of her relationship with her son, director Nick Cassavetes, to bring something new to the screen. After 40 years of acting, Rowlands still has what it takes.By Brandon Wilson

Daily Bruin Staff

ena Rowlands is the kind of actress that leads a person to almost embarrassing displays of laudation. Besides the fact that she has turned in some of the finest performances in film history, her work is relatively unknown to mainstream and younger audiences. So it's easy to go on and on when explaining the wonders of Rowlands.

"I feel like I have to write a poem about her, because there's just no way I can use superlative after superlative about every aspect of her being," says Marisa Tomei when asked what it was like working with the incomparable Gena Rowlands.

"She's one of the best actresses ever, if not the best. And she's stunning, and she's classy, and she's a broad, and really disciplined and open, and I'm really glad I got to meet her and work with her. I think it's been a really big influence on me in ways I don't even know yet."

Rowlands is best known for her partnership with her late husband actor-writer-director John Cassavetes, a man who is now considered to be the father of American Independent Cinema. Of Cassavetes' 10 films, Rowlands starred in seven, and their collaboration ranks as one of the best actor-director duos ever.

Now Rowlands is working with another product of her relationship with John Cassavetes: their son Nick.

In the upcoming film "Unhook the Stars" starring Rowlands, Tomei, Gerard Depardieu and Moira Kelly, Nick Cassavetes serves as co-writer and makes his feature film directorial debut. This is a project that was conceived as a showcase for the immense talents of his mother, which as it happens, was the last thing she was expecting.

"This is sort of a happy surprise, to have your son present you with a really wonderful script is not something you can anticipate" says Rowlands. The actress is now in the unusual position of having given birth to and raised her director. With the young Cassavetes she has completed a second film, continuing the dramatic tradition well-established in the family between Rowlands and the elder Cassavetes.

"It was thrilling," says Rowlands of stepping before the camera for her son. "I don't want to get soppy about it, but it's hard to describe, it's quite emotional."

In the film, Rowlands portrays Mildred, a spirited widow and mother of two grown children. Despite earnest attempts at communication, she doesn't get along with her aimless daughter Ann and manages a cordial relationship with her successful son Ethan (David Sherrill). A chance event brings her neighbor, a feisty single mom and her son (Tomei and Jake Lloyd) into her life as bonds form between Mildred and the mother and child.

The story is simply about a woman whom everyone needs and relies upon.The film was a chance for Rowlands to tackle a character with her own needs and concerns, but a character who is not all that different from herself.

"To say Mildred has a broad spectrum of interest would be the kindest way I could put it; to say she's a little pedantic would be probably closer to the truth," says Rowlands. "She has a whole set of right and wrongs and thinks things through quite clearly; she knows what rules in life she believes in and tries to abide by them. But her saving grace, I think, is that she's not a person who judges very heavily."

Nick Cassavetes concurs with his mother's assessment of Mildred and has little compunction about pointing out the finer qualities of both the character and the actress. "The thing I like about Gena best, and I like her a lot, is that she's an interested person. Not only is she interested in everything, she gets excited about information, she has a real excitement about learning. That's what I remember most about my childhood, and luckily she passed some of that onto me."

Born in Wisconsin, Rowlands followed up graduation from the University of Wisconsin with a stint in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City (where John, and later Nick Cassavetes would attend). Following a successful string of Broadway performances in the 1950s, Rowlands went west to make her film debut in "The High Cost of Living" (1958). It was at this same time in New York City that John Cassavetes was beginning to work on what would be his directorial debut, his improvisational first film "Shadows" (1959).

The two first collaborated on "A Child is Waiting" (1963), with Cassavetes doing a sophomore turn as director. Five years later, he directed her in "Faces," which featured the blistering and emotionally raw characterizations that have become Cassavetes trademark. The gallery of characters created through the teamwork of Cassavetes and Rowlands are among the most complex roles written and acted in cinema. Her role in "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) as Mabel Longhetti, a wife and mother with questionable mental sanity, is one of the greatest marvels of screen acting. She received her first Oscar nomination for this stellar performance.

Recalling the directorial approach of the elder Cassavetes, Rowlands finds much of his style in her son. Both began their careers in drama as actors.

"The similarities with Nick, and my late husband, is that he loves actors, and he treats them with a great tenderness and fondness," says Rowlands. "A lot of directors try to act like they like actors but they really have a hard time pulling it off. He really loves them, probably because he was an actor."

Other Rowlands-Cassavetes collaborations include the serio-comic "Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), "Opening Night" (1978), "Gloria" (1980, for which she received her second Oscar nomination) and "Love Streams" (1984, Cassavetes last film before his death in 1989).

While best known for her contributions to the Cassavetes filmography, Rowlands has worked with other renowned directors throughout her career, including Paul Mazursky ("The Tempest"), Paul Schrader ("Light of Day"), Woody Allen ("Another Woman"), Jim Jarmusch ("Night on Earth") and Lasse Hallstrom ("Once Around" and "Something to Talk About").

As for working with her son, it presented some of the same challenges as working with her husband. "On the set, if you're working with a member of your family, you have to be very careful that the other people don't feel excluded. I learned that very early on working with John; and I think we pulled it off. We acted just as an actor and director. When we were on "Gloria," of course John and I had been married many years by then, a young p.a. (production assistant) on the last day of shooting found out we were married. She was so surprised. And I thought, 'We did all right!' So Nick and I try to work that way, too."

For Nick Cassavetes, the prospect of directing both a legend and his mother could have proved daunting. But the director relied on his mother's talent and their mutual love for the material to make the process a smooth one. "Did I have trepidation about making a movie, sure. But number one, she's the greatest actress in the world. She can do anything, so your behind is covered. She makes things that are normal look extraordinary. Number two, there is a real short-hand in speaking with someone you know so well. With other actors you have to tell them not only what you want, but they also have to know who you are so they can judge the direction you're giving. That's one process we didn't have to go through."

Rowlands was recently honored during the AFI Film Festival for her body of work, and with the release of "Unhook the Stars," the actress may find the accolades she deserves coming to her, even if they are a bit late.

Her son certainly hopes so. "I hope that I write something like this for her again, it's an exceptional part for her. It's no secret that Gena's a great actress, but this film shows many things we haven't seen from her before. And I just hope she gets recognized for being the great actress she is."

FILM: "Unhook the Stars" will be released this Friday, Nov. 1.

MIRAMAX FILMS

Gena Rowlands stars in "Unhook the Stars," a film directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes.MIRAMAX FILMS

Director Nick Cassavetes on location for "Unhook the Stars" with his mother, Gena Rowlands.

(Gena Rowlands) is now in the unusual position of having given birth to and raised her director.