UTSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:03.759
Good morning, and this is morning real if I see
2
00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:06.400
and I review it, he's a three to four to
3
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.839
women in the Sol podcast of films that I review
4
00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.679
from black and white to color from eighteen eighty nine
5
00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:18.679
to twenty twenty five, you name it, I review it. Anyways,
6
00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:23.640
today I'm very excited to review this film called Opening Night.
7
00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:29.440
It's a nineteen seventy seven American psychological drama film written
8
00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:33.640
and directed by John Cassavitz, Who's jun Kioseovitz.
9
00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:34.920
Listen man.
10
00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.799
John Cassavitz is like a rapper's favorite rapper, but in filmmaking,
11
00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.759
so it's a filmmaker's favorite filmmaker. And this guy did
12
00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.159
not make a lot of movies in his lifetime. I
13
00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:52.119
mean compared to like, let's just say, Francis vour Coppola,
14
00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:58.359
Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch. He did make a
15
00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:03.840
handful of films, a lot of unproduced work since the
16
00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:06.840
time of his death that has been discovered.
17
00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:10.480
Right, John Cavit Cassovitz is a g man.
18
00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:16.040
He he is the epitome of an independent filmmaker, an
19
00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:21.519
American independent filmmaker. Just to like put the emphasis on that,
20
00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:25.480
because guess what Man. Like, if this guy had not
21
00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:29.799
existed or maybe just directed maybe like three films and
22
00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:34.280
that's it, we wouldn't have directors like Sean Baker and
23
00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:38.120
Quentin Tarantino, like just off top, because when you look
24
00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:41.959
at this guy's work, especially this film Opening Night, you
25
00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.920
see a lot of what Quentin Tarantino would do in
26
00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:50.560
his career, you know, and work on why as well.
27
00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:55.719
I'm pretty sure one car Y studied John Cassovitz, and honestly,
28
00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.840
like every filmmaker should study cass of it Its because
29
00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:04.239
he really isn't He really isn't your you're He's just
30
00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:08.520
not your typical movie director. You know. He makes films
31
00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:13.599
about people going through like shit man, whether it's like
32
00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:19.280
a mental breakdown or they're stuck in her place between criminals,
33
00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.639
moms and stuff related to that. And honestly, like he
34
00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:27.840
deals with like he touches on race really like puts
35
00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.120
women out there. You know, he doesn't make a woman.
36
00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:31.479
A secondary character.
37
00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.400
In fact, he tries to put women as a as
38
00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:39.319
a primary character. And I just gotta go through the
39
00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:44.360
credits real quick. Anyways, this film Opening Night, it's about
40
00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:49.560
an actress who is trying to make sense of a
41
00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:53.159
play that she is currently working under along with like
42
00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:57.080
other people who are honestly taking this play very serious.
43
00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:00.599
And it's not that she doesn't take it so as
44
00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:04.319
they do. But look, man, when somebody gives you, like,
45
00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:06.280
let's say you're a creative person, right, let's say you're
46
00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.319
an actor. Somebody gives you a work, and you're very talented,
47
00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.120
you know, even though you have your set of problems, right,
48
00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:15.520
but you're talented, and you have a certain stigma of
49
00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.240
certain things as to how a place should be like right,
50
00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:22.520
and like the play that she's working under.
51
00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:23.439
Is basically.
52
00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:28.759
A play about aging, and she is in middle She's
53
00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:32.680
a middle aged actress, General Rowlands. Generals is the key character.
54
00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:37.639
She plays, this character called Murda Gordon, playing a play
55
00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:41.680
called The Second Woman or Second Woman whatever, right, I mean,
56
00:03:41.719 --> 00:03:46.240
the plot of the film, the plot of the play, look,
57
00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:50.479
doesn't really matter, because the whole point is that she
58
00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:53.960
doesn't get this play. So we get the play, but
59
00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:58.400
she doesn't get it because she herself is having a
60
00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:01.599
hard time trying to like struggled her crisis as a
61
00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:05.240
middle aged person. And it's funny because all the other
62
00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:11.319
actors and screenwriter, director they're all old.
63
00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:12.439
They're all old.
64
00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:16.040
All the key cast of characters are old. And it's
65
00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.720
funny because Cassavettes during the time of this film, when
66
00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:24.560
he was writing it and directing it, obviously was in
67
00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:29.759
the stage of middle aged nests or whatever. Right, So anyway,
68
00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:33.000
this woman tries to make display her own. She tries
69
00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.399
to find something in it where she can just decide like,
70
00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:39.319
you know what, Okay, I
Load full transcript
gotta be cool with this woman,
71
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.959
and I just gotta take off with it. And eventually
72
00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:43.439
she does.
73
00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:43.720
Right.
74
00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:48.720
But it's a roller coaster of emotions, roller coaster of drama,
75
00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:54.959
not an experimental psychological film. But it's it is melodramatic,
76
00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:57.720
but it's not the type of melodramatic that you would find.
77
00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:02.040
And let's say like a Tyler Perry film where everything's
78
00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.319
just overacted. But I would say, like when it comes
79
00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:07.600
to Broadway and all that stuff, I think it's normal
80
00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:12.040
that the actors overact, right, But there's certain screen like
81
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:16.199
stage playwrights who don't want that type of stuff. They
82
00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:20.319
want to stick to the script. And in this particular film,
83
00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:24.959
the director wanted Myrtle Gordon to stick to the script
84
00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:26.839
as much as she can and.
85
00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:29.079
It's funny because the play was written by a woman.
86
00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:36.439
So there's these like there's this not a consensus or discourse,
87
00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.519
but all these characters play certain roles that kind of
88
00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:46.839
like stab at the notion of age and aging, you know,
89
00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:51.319
and what their positions in their life are and what
90
00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.879
their worth is. And each character kind of puts it
91
00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:57.600
out there, you know. The director puts it out there.
92
00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:01.879
After a night of like of rehearsing, all he doesn't
93
00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:05.439
All he just wants to do is come home, have
94
00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:07.199
a nightcap with his wife.
95
00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:07.759
And go to bed.
96
00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:11.600
But this guy is stuck having received phone calls of
97
00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:17.839
Myrtle pretty much kind of like seeking that attention. But
98
00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:19.879
it's not like on purpose.
99
00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:24.079
It's just that she's it's like she can't manage who
100
00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:24.480
she is.
101
00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.839
And then she's an alcoholic as well, and that plays
102
00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:28.639
a big.
103
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:29.879
Big part in the film.
104
00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:34.360
Overall. It's it's a wild film, man, But I love
105
00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.040
this film, and a lot of a lot.
106
00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:37.439
Of people don't.
107
00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:41.399
Really this is like a weak Cassavettes film. A lot
108
00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:43.839
of people would tend to agree that it's a week
109
00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:49.319
because there's not much of an ending per se in
110
00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.240
this film. And I'm not gonna spoil the ending, and
111
00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:54.519
I'm gonna tell you how it ends. You can kind
112
00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:56.199
of see where it goes and how it.
113
00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:57.079
Ends once she wants.
114
00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.560
Once you watch the film, I gotta say I was.
115
00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.560
I was very intrigued by its ending because how I
116
00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:10.000
see it, you know, besides, like the actual plot is concerned.
117
00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:13.079
I mean, this woman is really trying to get through
118
00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:16.600
this play as much as she can. And it's funny
119
00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.600
because like, it's not like she has a it's not
120
00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:21.720
like she has no choice.
121
00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.519
She can quit if she wants, but it's it's sort
122
00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:26.639
of that thing where like.
123
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:30.639
And she and she mentions it in the film with
124
00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.959
like with the tell the stage playwright right played by
125
00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:40.959
who plays her John Blondell. She plays the stage playwright
126
00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.480
called Sarah Good. She writes this film it's about aging,
127
00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:50.120
and obviously you can tell. And you know, it's common
128
00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:54.160
in the field, in the heart of filmmaking, where the
129
00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:58.360
writer puts a lot of himself or herself or themselves
130
00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.639
in the actual product. You know, I'm pretty sure when
131
00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:05.680
Quentin Tarantino wrote Reservoir Dogs, it put a whole freaking
132
00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:09.480
life there, you know, even though he's never experienced crime,
133
00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.040
he's never been in a mob type of environment or whatever,
134
00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:15.600
at least I don't know he has or whatnot. But
135
00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:18.600
put yourself there. You put a lot of yourself there,
136
00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:23.040
and I'm pretty sure Sarah put a lot of herself there.
137
00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:28.160
But Mirta just doesn't. She can't put herself there, and
138
00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.839
she doesn't make like this point where I'm not as
139
00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:34.799
old as you are, So how can I even possibly
140
00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:40.879
understand you as a woman of your age? No disrespect,
141
00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:46.120
And Sarah isn't the type of mindset was just like
142
00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:49.919
you think I care, dude, Like, isn't that the point
143
00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.440
of acting to like pretend to embody yourself as the
144
00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.879
character because you are selling something that hundreds of people
145
00:08:56.919 --> 00:09:01.759
are gonna watch you do, and low key hi key,
146
00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.840
they're expecting greatness. Anything you put out you're obviously going
147
00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:11.039
to expect, especially when it comes to like entertainment in
148
00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:15.399
regards in anything in entertainment, you expect it to be the.
149
00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.080
Greatest thing ever. And you have to repeat the greatest thing.
150
00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:22.960
Ever again and again and again. In this particular play,
151
00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:25.159
Marle just can't do it.
152
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:25.960
She just can't.
153
00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.879
It's like she can't see where she could stand along
154
00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:32.480
with the character that she's playing, and not only that man,
155
00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.440
like after the like maybe like the first night or
156
00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:38.559
two of rehearsals, she gets out right and everybody's like.
157
00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:40.759
Oh my god, you're the best. Oh my god, I
158
00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:41.440
can't live without you.
159
00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:46.200
And there's this one fan who like literally throws herself
160
00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:51.759
onto Mermal and cries and like doesn't want to let
161
00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:55.240
go over her wants to like just be attached to
162
00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:58.440
her because maybe that's like the only thing that makes
163
00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:02.759
sense to her, because I think that's what Jenner Rowlands,
164
00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:06.200
who plays Myrtle Gordon, is trying to make sense of
165
00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:09.120
this play and of herself, like, you know, I'm doing this.
166
00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:10.639
I've been doing this for a long time.
167
00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.480
You know. I want to put myself out there. Acting
168
00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.240
is what gets my kicks going, you know. And she
169
00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:19.840
said something like that herself, you know, to Sarah Good,
170
00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:22.799
like I get a kick out of acting, Like it's just.
171
00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:26.519
I just can't. I just can't.
172
00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.919
It's just weird, like I gotta I don't know. And
173
00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:36.879
then anyways, the chick the fan tries to you know,
174
00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:40.000
just not only get her autographs in, but just wants
175
00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:45.159
to like live through her right, and comes to the
176
00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:46.960
point where she's like on her knees and she can't
177
00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:49.000
get up. It's like she's lost control of her own self.
178
00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:51.080
And it's crazy because Myrtle.
179
00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.559
Loses control of her own self a couple of times
180
00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:59.080
throughout the film. And it's man, I just gotta say this,
181
00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:02.879
man like General Rowland recently passed away.
182
00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:04.600
She lived a long age.
183
00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:09.080
She's done a bunch of films since being with Castlebets, Right,
184
00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.399
I mean she did The Notebook, playing the like the
185
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:19.159
primary not the like playing the older version of Rachel
186
00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:23.159
McAdams's character. You know, like she plays the like I
187
00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:28.960
guess the present you know of that character, right, And man, dude,
188
00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.320
like one of the first films that I've seen General
189
00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:37.279
Rowlands in honestly is The Notebook. And I remember seeing
190
00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.840
The Notebook like maybe like.
191
00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:42.240
Ten years after it came out.
192
00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:45.000
And then when you're watching it from like a different
193
00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:48.399
perspective of life as you're older, right, and you see
194
00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.360
this character, but you see the woman behind the character, right,
195
00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:56.000
and you're like, dude, that's General Rowlands and she's still
196
00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:00.240
it's not like she's playing again another role of a
197
00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:04.240
woman breaking down. But like it makes sense how a
198
00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:09.440
person like General Rowlans can like embody a role like
199
00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.159
that or embody a similar role and play it to
200
00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:19.120
a t and honestly man like it's it. It's not difficult,
201
00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.440
but at the same time, it's not easy to play
202
00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:26.120
women who are under any type of distress. But general
203
00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:29.320
Rowles does it so good, especially in Opening Night, Like
204
00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:36.399
you can see this this person embodying a character who's
205
00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:40.919
trying to figure herself out along with people who are like.
206
00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:44.080
They're not very.
207
00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.759
The most encouraging of people, right, But then again it's
208
00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:53.279
like this woe is an alcoholic, She's fucking everything up, dude,
209
00:12:53.360 --> 00:13:00.200
Like she can't even like like maintain herself to get
210
00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:04.159
slapped by her co star. But like, you know, because
211
00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:06.440
this is gonna be live on stage, right, they're gonna
212
00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:09.919
there's gonna there is going to be violence. You know,
213
00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:12.639
there's gonna be some type of battery or a man
214
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.720
is going to legitimately harm a woman with an open
215
00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.600
hand slab but not even using the palm, using the fingers, right,
216
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.360
And this is very directly, this is very carefully directed, right,
217
00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:29.039
especially if by being Gazara playing many Victor who's the
218
00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:32.879
director of the play. And then I'm not seeing a
219
00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:36.679
lot of ban Gazara to see him play a you know,
220
00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:37.919
a play director or whatever.
221
00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:38.960
Man, it's it's.
222
00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:41.200
Fun seeing him now, but it's it's it's great to
223
00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:46.720
see him put himself out there, you know, as a character.
224
00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:52.559
But yeah, all these people who surround Myrtle honestly not
225
00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:57.200
the best people to surround themselves to kind of they're
226
00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:00.000
kind of dicks, man Like. Then again, at the same time,
227
00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:05.720
is like everybody has a role, right even to the personnel,
228
00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:09.600
like the rip lighting staff all that stuff. Man, Like
229
00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:12.360
they're doing a job.
230
00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.919
They're they're hired, they're getting paid or he's trying to
231
00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.480
get paid. Good, you know what I'm saying.
232
00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.759
And then comes in this chick, Myrtle Gordon, who's just
233
00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.080
unstable and it's kind of like not her fault, man,
234
00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:29.120
because towards the like in the first act of the film,
235
00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:34.360
like she witnesses a car crash with that fan, Like
236
00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.600
she sees that fan. Well I don't know if she
237
00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:40.120
sees her or not, but that fan does get killed,
238
00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:43.600
like gets killed by a car, and it haunts her
239
00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:46.360
and the haunts her throughout the whole film to the
240
00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:50.159
point where she needs to see a spiritualist. And it's
241
00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:54.399
funny because that's the only time where Sarah Good is
242
00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:57.240
actually good to Myrtle, Like she actually tries to help
243
00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.240
her out, because you know, after hearing her soul and
244
00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:02.440
all that stuff, just like, okay, you know what, let's
245
00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:08.320
try this. And I gotta say, man from a screenwriting
246
00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.639
point of view, especially like you know, you don't want
247
00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.279
to say just some plain old film about a woman
248
00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:16.279
breaking down. There's got to be reasons for it. There's
249
00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.120
got to be some type of drive. The stakes are high,
250
00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:21.399
and they got to get higher. And here you are
251
00:15:21.440 -->
00:15:26.879
watching Myrtle and Sarah go to a spiritualist's home or
252
00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:30.879
workshop or whatnot. They try to do a seance. And
253
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.879
it's kind of hard to tell whether if we are
254
00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:43.840
watching the woman who died or is it really Myrtle
255
00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:47.039
watching it and we're just getting a perspective of her.
256
00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:52.440
It's kind of very difficult to kind of it's kind
257
00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:56.960
of very difficult to kind of get the head wrapped
258
00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:59.840
onto that. But it works for her, it works for
259
00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:02.039
the screenplay because you gott to push something forward, right,
260
00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:05.000
like this film is about a woman actress trying to
261
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:08.480
get your shit together, right, which is like kind of
262
00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:09.240
very hard to do.
263
00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:12.639
And it's funny because like, if you're drinking, you're trying
264
00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:18.039
to just cope with the trauma. Obviously that's not gonna help.
265
00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.919
But it's a fun right to see this film fun
266
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.159
right to see general and is playing Mortal Gordon.
267
00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.080
She really pulls it off.
268
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:30.759
Man. I like the way they touch the subject of aging,
269
00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:36.320
touch the subject of acting and aging at the same time.
270
00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.720
It's a really good film. I'm not really into Broadway
271
00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:44.080
or plays, but when you watch something like this, it's
272
00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:48.799
funny because the way Cassovitz shoots the the play scenes,
273
00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:52.720
it's obviously from kind of like from the audience's point
274
00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:55.159
of view, right like, and it's from different angles as well.
275
00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:57.759
And I love how he uses the space, you know.
276
00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:00.480
And it was film that the.
277
00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.159
Pasadena Civic Auditorium, which is kind of really cool to
278
00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.119
know that this film was shot, like shit, like less
279
00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:09.960
than ten miles from where I live. You know, it's
280
00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:12.720
kind of nice to see that a director can pull
281
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.400
something like that off, you know. But anyways, the way
282
00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:17.759
he can use that much space, you know, to like
283
00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.279
let the actress be free. And even though this is
284
00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:23.519
a fucking play, any film that we're watching. It's fun
285
00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:28.519
to see how actors coming gether, come together and just
286
00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:30.440
act their asses off.
287
00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:33.119
And there's a point in this.
288
00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:37.920
Film where Myrtle comes up to Maurice Aarons, who play
289
00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:41.960
who is played by John Cassavettz. And it's crazy because
290
00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:46.160
it's fun to see like directors starring their films. And yeah,
291
00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:48.279
there's something that don't really do a good job like
292
00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:53.559
no Offense dude, Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino. They're not,
293
00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:56.279
but they're not supposed to be right.
294
00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.559
They're just they're just trying to move the story forward.
295
00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:02.400
That's the whole point, whether it's shitty or not. The
296
00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:05.160
cast of its man in this film.
297
00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:10.200
Man like talk about breaking the fourth fall, talk about
298
00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:15.759
breaking the foundations of filmmaking, the core foundations of filmmaking,
299
00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:17.880
and just like let her rip and make.
300
00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:18.680
It his own.
301
00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:23.400
He himself, as a filmmaker, is trying to understand or
302
00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.640
try to put it understanding, try to put his own
303
00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.799
thing onto a project like this, and.
304
00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:30.680
Could it work? I believe it did work.
305
00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:33.519
Now, Like I said in the beginning of all this,
306
00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.240
not a lot of people like this film because it
307
00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:39.640
felt like it didn't really go too much anywhere. But
308
00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:42.359
I mean, the whole plot of the film really, to
309
00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:46.240
me at least, is this woman trying to fucking get
310
00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:50.000
through this play, get through the opening night period and
311
00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:52.039
guess what she did that.
312
00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:56.759
Now, did she pull it off or not?
313
00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:01.519
That's really up to the viewer to the side. Now
314
00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:08.720
in the film, there is a consensus. And you know,
315
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:13.640
when you're watching a shitty film. People love shitty films
316
00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.079
and people don't like shitty films. But when you sit
317
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.960
on in the theater and you watch a shitty play
318
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.880
going on and you don't even know it, but you're
319
00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.319
rooting for it because to you, it just makes sense.
320
00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:30.319
And I feel like that's what John cassabiszs Strona inquire
321
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.960
upon that, like, there are some things even if it's crap,
322
00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:36.160
if it makes sense to you, if you love it
323
00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:39.799
and
applaud it and all that stuff, then then that
324
00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:45.160
person won. Jenna Rowland's one, and she continues to keep
325
00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:48.359
on winning up until the time of her passing.
326
00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:49.839
You know, but.
327
00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:54.359
If anybody's trying to get into acting or loves to
328
00:19:54.359 --> 00:20:01.119
see films with women driven roles, you will never be
329
00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:04.160
disappointed with General Rowlands. She is one of a kind
330
00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:08.079
female actor Dad, even to this day, there hasn't been.
331
00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:12.440
It's not that you can't become General Rowlands or become
332
00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:16.839
like General Rowlands, but this woman, like with all the
333
00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:20.119
handful of films that she's been in, every one of them,
334
00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:27.319
she put her one hundred percent self out there and
335
00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.359
you can never get enough. Honestly, you kind of want
336
00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:33.079
to watch the film again, and not from like a critic.
337
00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.000
The critic comes out in you sometimes, but like when
338
00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:39.240
you're watching it as a fan, as like seeing a
339
00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:43.240
person just be as free as they can in filmmaking,
340
00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.640
and then like Broadway and all that stuff, to see
341
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.640
it happen, no holds bar and trying and having them
342
00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.279
make sense of it for themselves, like what more do
343
00:20:56.359 --> 00:20:59.160
you want? I think the film wins, and as far
344
00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:02.440
as the third actors concerned, I think it just wins
345
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:04.200
just by the fact that she got through the fucking
346
00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:10.119
play to some dismay of certain people, but she won man.
347
00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.680
And that's funny because like people don't really like when
348
00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:17.640
you got something going on, like something that's brutal to
349
00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.680
you going through a bad situation, but you got a
350
00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:23.559
project that you got to like make sure that you
351
00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:26.480
deliver it because there's hundreds of people who are kind
352
00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:27.680
of basically.
353
00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:30.599
Make like they're pulling.
354
00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.759
They're putting it all on you in a sense, they're
355
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:35.839
just putting it.
356
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.480
All on you, and.
357
00:21:38.119 --> 00:21:40.519
You just gotta do it because otherwise, like what was
358
00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:43.119
the point even trying to do it in the first place? Right,
359
00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:48.279
So there's that a lot of nerves in this film,
360
00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:50.559
a lot of point of views, but I feel like
361
00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:54.279
in the core it's a lot.
362
00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:55.279
It's a lot like.
363
00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:58.960
Trying to make shit your own, trying to make sense
364
00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:03.440
of it at the same time, and the people are
365
00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:08.039
willing to do that alongside you. You win. You win
366
00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:12.680
at that as well, and why not do it because
367
00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:13.640
you only have one life?
368
00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:13.920
Right?
369
00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:19.599
What a What an interesting film about life, about aging,
370
00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:22.720
about how making sense of life, especially through your career.
371
00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.400
My name is Ray salas Are follow me on Morningshell Films,
372
00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:28.839
IG and YouTube. Check out my website Mornshell Films dot
373
00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.519
c oh you can check out other reviews that I've done.
374
00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:37.960
They're all out there. Thank you and see you in
375
00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:38.400
the theater.