John Cassavetes’ greatest success is built on a fearless, tour-de-force performance from Gena Rowlands as Mabel Longhetti, a working class wife and mom who sometimes struggles to keep it all together. Peter Falk is her husband, a proud man who loves Mabel, but is also ashamed of her. Love, as the song goes, will tear you apart.
When I think of this film, it’s all about Gena Rowlands; it’s one of the greatest on-screen performances ever in my opinion. But also, Peter Falk is amazing. And it’s John Cassavetes at his best. Although the film explores the difficult and heavy subject matter of mental illness, it somehow manages to deliver so much heart, humor, joy, and love to this beautiful story as well. There is a palpable energy in the performances, the writing, the camera moves and editing that all just leaps through the screen. There is a messiness, a raw, ’don’t give a f***’ attitude in the filmmaking here that I believe is the essence of great indie cinema and which is what makes John Cassavetes truly one of the greats.
Anthony Shim
October 2 & 8: Introduced by Leading Lights guest programmer Anthony Shim
Supported by
Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes
USA
1974
Leading Lights
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Sam Shaw
Screenwriter
John Cassavetes
Editor
David Armstrong, Sheila Viseltear
Original Music
Bo Harwood
Director
John Cassavetes
Among the most influential of all American filmmakers, John Cassavetes forged his own path, combining a successful career as an actor for hire (The Dirty Dozen; Rosemary’s Baby) with his own independent productions as writer-director. Cassavetes’ own films are raw, abrasive portraits of men and women wrestling with their demons, typically shot in a verité style, and feature powerhouse performances from his wife, Gena Rowlands, and regular collaborators Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara and Seymour Cassel, as well as extended family members. Cassavetes died in 1989 at the age of 59.
Filmography: Shadows (1958); Faces (1968); Husbands (1970); Opening Night (1977); Love Streams (1984)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).