Gena Rowlands Movies

A single thirtysomething whose friends all seem to be romantically involved, happily married, or with child meets an eccentric Frenchman who shows her just what an amazing place the world can truly be in director Zoe Cassavetes' entry into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. As if it wasn't depressing enough to be 35 and still single, Nora (Parker Posey) is constantly reminded by her loving but tactless mother (Gena Rowlands) just how unlucky she has been in love. Though Nora longs to enter into a blissful union like the one of her best friend, Audrey (Drea de Matteo), she finds that the dating pool just isn't what it used to be. Things soon begin to look up, however, when Nora makes the acquaintance of handsome Frenchman Julian (Melvil Poupaud). While the two share an instant chemistry that is undeniable, Nora is saddened to learn that Julian will soon be departing for his native soil. When Julian does depart, Nora laments the fact that she wasn't able to express her feelings more effectively. If only Nora could organize her scattered thoughts long enough to remember her love object's last name, she might not have to go searching out every "Julian" in Paris to locate the man of her dreams. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Gena Rowlands penned and stars opposite longtime friend and Cassavetes collaborator Ben Gazzara in this short film set in the titular section of Paris. The two play a long-separated married couple, reunited on the eve of their divorce. Directed by Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin, Quartier Latin was included in Paris, Je T'Aime, a collection of shorts by such filmmakers as Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuarón, and the Coen Brothers. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature. Paris, Je T'Aime features 18 short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in collaboration). In "Faubourg Saint-Denis," Tom Tykwer directs Natalie Portman as an American actress who is the object of affection for a blind student (Melchior Belson). Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" follows a salesman (Barbet Schroeder) as he tries to pitch beauty aids in Chinatown. Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier are father and daughter in "Parc Monceau" from Alfonso Cuarón. Animator Sylvain Chomet turns his eye to a pair of living, breathing mimes in "Tour Eiffel." An interracial romance in France is offered by Gurinder Chadha in "Quais de Seine." In "Le Marais" from Gus Van Sant, a man (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself falling for a handsome gent (Elias McConnell) who works in a print shop. Isabel Coixet tells the tale of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who is making his final choice between his wife (Miranda Richardson) and his lover (Leonor Watling) in "Bastille." Juliette Binoche plays a grieving mother in Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires," in which she's greeted by a spectral cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Richard LaGravanese's "Pigalle" finds a long-married man (Bob Hoskins) turning to a prostitute for advice on pleasing his wife (Fanny Ardant). Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin direct Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara as longtime marrieds meeting for one final pre-divorce encounter in "Quartier Latin." Steve Buscemi learns a lesson about local etiquette in the Paris Metro in "Tuileries" from Joel and Ethan Coen. In "Loin du 16ème" by Walter Salles, a housekeeper (Catalina Sandino Moreno) longs for her own child as she tends to the infant of her wealthy employer. Elijah Wood stars in "Quartier de la Madeleine," a vampire tale from Vincenzo Natali. Wes Craven presents another fantasy in "Père-Lachaise," in which an engaged young man (Rufus Sewell) receives romantic advice from the spirit of Oscar Wilde (Alex Payne). A postal worker from Colorado (Margo Martindale) shares her thoughts on her visit to Paris in mangled French in Alexander Payne's witty "14th Arrondissement." Other segments include "Place des Fêtes" from Oliver Schmitz, Bruno Podalydès' "Montmartre," and "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" by Olivier Assayas, which stars Maggie Gyllenhaal. Paris, Je T'Aime received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Nick Cassavetes, this adaptation of author Nicholas Sparks' bestselling novel revolves around Noah Calhoun's (James Garner) regular visits to a female patron (Gena Rowlands) of an area nursing home. Rather than bore her with the inanities of everyday life, Calhoun reads from an old, faded notebook containing the sweeping account of a young couple (Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) whose love affair was tragically put to a halt after their separation in the midst of World War II. Seven years later, the couple was reunited, and, despite having taken radically different paths, they found themselves unable to resist the call of a second chance. The Notebook also features Joan Allen, Sam Shepard, and Kevin Connolly. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Directed by Rick McKay, who traveled across five continents during the documentary's production, Broadway: The Golden Age is both a celebration of current Broadway stars and a tribute to Broadway legends past. Through a plethora of interviews and vast amounts of archival footage, McKay presents a variety of factoids, anecdotes, and memories from over 100 Broadway actors, writers, and directors. The careers of Laurette Taylor, Kim Hunter, Jessica Tandy, and Marlon Brando are all animatedly retold, as is some of the Broadway "lore of olde," such as Angela Lansbury's struggle to land a role in Mame and the shocked reaction to West Side Story on its opening night. In addition to footage and discussion regarding highly successful Broadway stars, a variety of actors recount their experiences and struggles in finding even a small amount of critical recognition. The cast includes Shirley MacLaine, Bea Arthur, Edie Adams, Alec Baldwin, and Kaye Ballard, and many others. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Charlie Kate Birch (Gena Rowlands) is a peculiarly powerful Southern matriarch, an anachronism in the early 20th century. She's a self-educated woman who makes a good living as a midwife and holistic healer. One day, she saves a black man who's been lynched, and he thanks her by giving her a rabbit's foot, which supposedly "brings an easy life" to the person who carries it. Charlie's husband leaves her soon thereafter, but she had begun to think he was an idiot anyway. Charlie's only character flaw seems to be her attraction to unworthy men, and she passes that trait on to her daughter, Sophia (Mimi Rogers). Sophia's husband is an unfaithful lout, and he dies an early death, leaving Charlie, Sophia, and her daughter, Margaret (Susan May Pratt of 10 Things I Hate About You) to fend for themselves, which they do admirably. Soon, Sophia has another suitor, a divorced lawyer named Richard Baines (Geordie Johnson). Unlike her mother, Sophia has remained a romantic soul, and she loves Richard, and waits patiently for him to propose to her. Charlie, meanwhile, has an ongoing feud with the alcoholic town doctor, and tries to be a more cerebral influence on Margaret. But when, during World War II, Margaret falls in love with Tom Hawkings (Ken Mitchell), a wounded soldier, Charlie realizes that they're a perfect match. Charms for the Easy Life was adapted by screenwriter Angela Shelton (Tumbleweeds) from a novel by Kaye Gibbons. The film was directed by Joan Micklin Silver (Crossing Delancey) and premiered on Showtime on August 18, 2002. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A woman tries to make sense of her relationship with her mother -- who also happens to be her boss and landlady -- in this dramatic comedy. Iris (Laura Linney) has never had an especially warm relationship with her mother Min (Gena Rowlands), but after her husband committed suicide, Iris was emotionally shattered and had nowhere to go, so Min allowed her to move into the family home and help her out with her business, Bluebird Bridals. Eight years later, Iris and her son Lonnie (Emile Hirsch) are still "temporarily" with Min, and they're all still trying to make the best of an often combustible situation. Min finds herself fending off the advances of Mando (Miguel Sandoval), an elderly wedding photographer with romance on his mind, while Iris has to convince Erroll Podubney (Fred Ward) to pay for the wedding being staged for his daughter, whose nuptials have been given a special urgency by her pregnancy. And with no male role models around the house, Lonnie looks for advice from Lud (Lee Tergesen), a gas jockey at a local filling station. Wild Iris was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it premiered on August 5, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This moving, finely-wrought portrayal of legendary cinematographer Sven Nykvist was directed by his son Carl-Gustav Nykvist -- a noted filmmaker himself. Spanning from long forgotten kiddie flick in 1945 to Woody Allen's Celebrity (1997), Nykvist's career came to an abrupt end when he was diagnosed with a rare disorder that affects his speech. Though the film explores Nykvist's upbringing and turbulent private life (an ugly divorce, the suicide of one of his sons, an affair with Mia Farrow), the emotional heart of the film is his celebrated collaboration with auteur Ingmar Bergman, with whom Nykvist made some of his most enduring work, including Winter Light (1962) and Scenes from a Marriage (1973). As Bergman recalls his own career, he notes, "I don't miss making films, but I miss the collaboration with Sven." ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In an exclusive neighborhood in upstate New York, family and friends gather to commemorate the AIDS-related death of Tony (played in flashbacks by D.B. Sweeney), a much-loved young man. The gathering takes place at the country home of Tony's half-brother John (Jared Harris) and John's moody wife Marian (Deborah Kara Unger). John and Marian's marriage has been under some strain, due in large part to Marian's overriding worries about their year-old baby. When Tony's longtime lover and Marian's best friend Lyle (David Conrad) arrives with Robert (James Duval), his new boyfriend, tensions heighten further. Meanwhile, on the other side of the lake, wealthy widow Laura (Gena Rowlands) returns home to a surprise visit from her estranged daughter Nina (Brooke Shields), a B-movie actress whose latest attempt to shock her mother comes courtesy of Thierry (Gary Dourdan), the married, black Parisian she has brought along. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Sophomore writer/director Willard Carroll weaves together an all-star cast in interlocking stories about finding love in Los Angeles. The film's theme is spoken by young club-hopper Joan (Angelina Jolie). Taken by the mysterious Keenan (Ryan Phillippe), she tells him that "talking about love" is like "dancing about architecture" (the original title until the studio thought it would be confused with Dancing at Lughnasa), meaning speech is not the medium to adequately express the details of love. They all try, anyway. Others up for the dance include a TV cooking-show hostess (Gena Rowlands) and her husband (Sean Connery) who still fight over his one brief infidelity 25 years earlier; two lovers (Madeline Stowe, Anthony Edwards) who discuss their unhappy marriages; and a theater director (Gillian Anderson) and her architect, Mr. Right (Jon Stewart). Also searching are Dennis Quaid, Nastassja Kinski and Patricia Clarkson. For a familial sort of love, there's Ellen Burstyn as the estranged mother to her son (Jay Mohr) dying of AIDS. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

In the Babe tradition of talking animatronic animals, this comedy adventure gets underway when animal-research-lab janitor Misha (Tony Shalhoub) expresses concern for a Blue-crown Conure parrot named Paulie (voice of Jay Mohr) caged in a dank basement. Misha settles back as Paulie tells his life story, seen in flashback: When Paulie was owned by little Marie (Hallie Kate Eisenberg), the parrot helped the little girl get rid of her stutter. After Marie tried to teach Paulie how to fly, he wound up in a pawnshop owned by Artie (Buddy Hackett), where he got an education in one-liners. Paulie and Ivy (Gena Rowlands) learn Marie's family is in LA, so Ivy agrees to drive Paulie cross-country in her RV. However, Marie goes blind and dies. Paulie is forced to fly to LA, where small-time entrepreneur Ignacio (Cheech Marin), with an eye for talent, talons and tacos, puts Paulie to work as a dancer at his taco-stand, where Paulie gets a birds-eye view of a female parrot with pretty plumage. Unfortunately, researcher Dr. Reingold (Bruce Davison), convinced Paulie can bring him academic recognition, steps in with a false promise to link the parrot up with Marie. Betrayed, Paulie refuses to speak anything other than the standard "want-a-cracker" lines, resulting in solitary confinement. Misha, who knows why the caged bird talks, hopes to free Paulie for an eventual reunion with Marie. Animal stunt coordinator Boone Narr and Stan Winston animatronics brought Paulie to life. For another fine-feathered film, see Dean Riesner's Bill and Coo (1947); the film's all-bird cast (dressed in human clothing) brought a "Special Award" for producer Ken Murray during the 1948 Oscar ceremony. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Written by the late John Cassavettes in 1987 and filmed by his son Nick a decade later, the comic drama She's So Lovely (originally and more appropriately titled She's De Lovely in honor of the Cole Porter composition central to the movie) stars real-life couple Sean Penn and Robin Wright-Penn as Eddie and Maureen, a young husband and wife whose relationship is strained by Eddie's frequently irrational behavior. When a run-in with a slimy neighbor (James Gandolfini) leaves the pregnant Maureen beaten and bruised, Eddie goes on the warpath, and his violent actions land him in a mental institution. Upon his release a decade later, he discovers Maureen has remarried (to a construction manager portrayed by John Travolta), had two more kids, and moved to the suburbs. Regardless, he resolves to win her back. A kind of reworking of the Cassavetes Sr. masterpiece A Woman Under the Influence, She's So Lovely marked the second film directed by Nick after Unhook the Stars. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A young boy comes of age in rural Georgia during the 1940s in Terence Davies' challenging, visually powerful drama. Acclaimed for his nostalgic, beautifully photographed reflections on England's past (The Long Day Closes, Distant Voices, Still Lives), Davies looks beyond his home country to America with this adaptation of a novel by John Kennedy Toole, author of A Confederacy of Dunces. The film is told through the eyes of David (Jacob Tierney), a teenage boy struggling to deal with life in a troubled family. He reflects on his youthful experiences of his father (Denis Leary), an abusive, impoverished worker who disappeared during World War II after enlisting in the army. David is left to care for his increasingly unstable mother (Diana Scarwid) with the help of his Aunt Mae (Gena Rowlands), a lively big band singer. With David's recollections making up the loose plot, The Neon Bible stresses memorably intense images over narrative momentum, with cinematographer Michael Coulter creating sharp, painterly compositions. Some viewers will likely be frustrated by the slow pace and elliptical style, though others may be transfixed by the often stunning photography and poetic approach. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide