Gena Rowlands, whose first name is pronounced Djenna, but who most of us always thought of as Djiina, has had the dubious honor of being “cult” since her big break as a struggling working-class wife in “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974). It is one of those roles that are burned into acting history, like Marlon Brando’s in “Lust Line”, Robert De Niro’s in “Taxi Driver” or Meryl Streep’s in “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”. One that, no matter how many times you see it, you cannot understand: how is it possible to play like that?
Born Virginia Cathryn on June 19, 1930, in Madison, Wisconsin, she came to New York in her twenties to study drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where she met and married the charismatic actor and film director John Cassavetes, a meeting that would eventually change film history.
During early In the fifties, Rowlands was mostly on stage, and she also (like her equally dashing husband) became an early television star, a parallel career she maintained for most of her life. Already in David Miller’s “Lonely are the brave” from 1962, she has her own style, stubbornness and physical presence that transforms the standardized “sweet girl” supporting role into a living character.
Frustrated by the conventions of studio films, the couple set about making films in their own way, often shot in their own house in Los Angeles, among animals and children and starring themselves and brilliant friends such as Peter Falk and Ben Gazzarra. Films such as “Faces”, “Minnie and Moskowitz”, “A Woman Under the Influence”, “Premiere Night”, “Gloria” and “Love Streams” have inspired several generations of directors and actors.
In Paul Mazursky’s playful Shakespeare interpretation “The Storm” from 1982, both spouses stand in front of the camera and play out a divorce drama so intense that those who try to woo them during the separation (Vittorio Gassman and Susan Sarandon respectively) eventually blow away and whirl away.
After Cassavete’s death In 1989, Rowlands was given a more reclusive role without ever stopping work. She made films with Terence Davies, Jim Jarmusch and Woody Allen. Son Nick Cassavetes directed her in three films and she made several award-winning appearances in television films such as “The Betty Ford story” and “Hysterical blindness”. In November 2015, she received an honorary Oscar.
Eventually, but not until she was 81, she even remarried.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to find a single interview or seminar where the conversation does not quickly shift to the collaboration with Cassavetes. She continued to calmly, lovingly and faithfully answer questions about him and their films until the very end. Only once have I seen her put her foot down; when a young man, during a seminar, which was supposed to be about her acting, started asking if Cassavetes was influenced by this or that documentary filmmaker. “As far as I know,” she replied, “John saw everything possible, but he was not influenced by anyone in particular. Except,” she added with a teasing smile, “by me.”
There is no getting away from the fact that their direction and acting matched each other perfectly. If his emotional documentary, hyper-intense direction had a boundless streak, Rowland’s playing was always sharp. Even when she appeared to be on the verge of being mentally dethroned, she did so with style. In “Woman under the influence” (which remained her favorite film), she plays a mother and wife who loses her grip on existence. Rowlands and Cassavetes were less interested in the cause—mental illness, alcoholism, an impossible female role, or just the unbearable intensity of love—as in the condition itself; the moment when you step out of the expected. Rowlands is there, in the midst of the slippage and degeneracy, while giving the character such stature (and humor) that her completely insane actions seem the only reasonable thing.
It’s something with the camera being as dynamic and moving as the feelings within her, while her exterior, her face and body, give such a solid impression. She always looked the same, with her golden, thick hair, her lion-like face, and her intense gaze; more like a forties star than someone from her own era. With her irrepressible way of wrinkling her nose while smiling crookedly than Elvis and making some wacky gangster face, she seemed invulnerable, even when she made herself more vulnerable and took more risks than anyone else.
She managed the almost impossible feat of being very much body, in addition to being raw-looking, in addition to being sexy, all without ever becoming object-sexy. Her massive privacy set a clear limit to any voyeuristic pawing.
The physical acting brings out not only her characters but also the environments they lived in. Cities and spaces; lifts, doors, subways, corridors, streets become so unusually tangible and take on a personal touch when she is there. And she had a very special tenderness. You somehow think you know what it feels like to get a hug from Rowlands. The stiffness of the suit jacket. The strength in the arms. The ladylike perfume scent. The chimney heat.
She oozed love but never became clingy. Not even when she played clingy. One has the feeling that the hug would be accompanied by a raw laugh and a puff back into life. That she didn’t need anyone, but loved us all.
Read more about film in DN and more texts by Kerstin Gezelius
Gena Rowlands
Born: 1930 i Cambria i Wisconsin.
Career: Had her film breakthrough in her husband John Cassavete’s film “Faces” in 1968 and made a series of films with him such as “Minnie and Moskowitz”, “A Woman Under the Influence”, “Gloria” and “Premiere Night”. Has also made films with Woody Allen (“Another woman”), Jim Jarmusch (“Night on earth”). Terence Davies (“The Neon Bible”), Lasse Hallström (“All talk about Grace”) and son Nick Cassavetes (“She’s so lovely”, “Take down the stars”, “The diary. I looked for you and found my heart”). Made his last film role in 2014 in “Six dance lessons in six weeks”.
Prices: Oscar nominee for best lead role twice for “A Woman Under the Influence” (1975) and “Gloria”. Received an honorary Oscar in 2015. Attended the Stockholm film festival in 1998 where she received a Stockholm Life time achievement award.
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