Two people still learning how to be parents

The end of an era; absolutely gutted to have heard of the passing of Gena Rowlands waking up this morning. Anyone who’s had the honor to see her work, particularly the films with the legend, and her husband, John Cassavetes, will attest to the command her screen presence had, and A Woman Under the Influence houses arguably her most raw, complex and sincere performance. Above all else, this film is really just two people who don’t know how to be parents; two people who didn’t marry to be parents and two people who are still learning how to be parents. You can’t talk about Gena Rowland’s performance in this film without mentioning Peter Falk, these two are flawlessly iconic together. You’re really watching this film to get to the root of the psychology of these characters, why they act the way they do and how they interact with one another amidst the chaos of their inability to be parents. It can be quite rough sometimes going through the ups and downs of everything that happens in this film, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t compel me nevertheless, and that’s a special feat too considering its not really a story that resonates with me all that much. The trademark, free-flow naturalism, overlapping dialogue and improv you’ll usually see in a John Cassavetes and Robert Altman film just clicks for me for some reason and the best way to truly absorb yourself in the drama is to really picture yourself not as a viewer, but a visitor in the very room all this conflict, emotion and empathy is playing out before your eyes.