The 1977 performance Zoë Kravitz will never get tired of watching: “Just phenomenal”
Born into a family of stars, it was only a matter of time before Zoë Kravitz became famous for her own talents, and in 2007, she made her film debut in No Reservations.
To be frank, it took Kravitz a while to star in anything of note, but in 2011, she made it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a role in X-Men: First Class, soon following it with a part in the Divergent series, and let’s be real, she wasn’t picking roles that were super impressive, often opting for major franchises or forgettable smaller budget films, actually proving her talents on the small screen instead.
Her appearances in the HBO shows Big Little Lies and High Fidelity showed a more capable actor, and it seems like these acclaimed series were turning points for the star, helping her to be taken more seriously by allowing her to demonstrate her comedic and dramatic chops. There were no flashy action sequences or fantastical creatures, as these projects allowed for a more stripped-back and honest vision of Kravitz.
Despite her frequently picking out some pretty lacklustre movie roles, she does have good taste, and there’s one film she could never tire of, John Cassavetes’ Opening Night. The film starred Gena Rowlands in the leading role, and it was one of many films by her husband in which she featured. She’d already given her seminal performance as Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence by this point, but Opening Night, in which her character has a nervous breakdown, was hardly an inferior turn.
Rowlands was just incredible, and her skill has inspired practically every actor who has sat down and watched her in a Cassavetes film. Her prowess is a masterclass in honest and emotive acting, and Kravitz looks up to her, citing the film as a personal favourite. “It’s very long. It’s exhausting. But Gena Rowlands is just phenomenal,” the actor told Allure.
Not only does Kravitz admire the film, which was actually panned upon its release, only to now be held as a masterpiece, and Rowlands’ performance, but she also admires the way that the couple worked together. Few couples have ever teamed up to make art as evocative, as solid and truly groundbreaking. They were the perfect team, understanding each other like nobody else.
“Watching Opening Night, I think Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands are the ultimate couple because they’re both beautiful people and talented actors, but the fact that they made art together, art like that together, to me, that’s the ultimate relationship,” Kravitz admitted.
Of Rowland’s performance, she gushed, “She is just so amazing. So natural. I truly believe she doesn’t know the camera’s there. She does everything that you’re told not to do. And it works. It’s nice to see someone throw all the rules away.”
Kravitz seems to be getting increasingly bolder with her cinematic choices these days, even directing her own movie, Blink Twice, and perhaps it’s the influence of a rule-breaking legend like Rowlands who has encouraged her to aim bigger.
