Aubrey Plaza’s favourite John Cassavetes movie: “There’s a chaotic vibe”
During nearly every Criterion Closet tour, you’ll be hard to find one person who doesn’t mention their love for John Cassavetes, one of the masters of uncomfortably vulnerable arthouse cinema.
In a world full of stories that rely on made-up creatures, monsters and super-powered humans, it can feel rare to see something made with the level of care and intention as Cassavetes, who thrived on making deeply revealing films that highlighted the failings of the social structures that rule our lives, whether it be marriage, monogamy or masculinity.
But while many of his films shine a harsh light on the ways these conventions fail us, whether it be through his scathing portrayal of four men on the cusp of a mid-life crisis in Husbands or the reality of mental illness and addiction in Opening Night, there is one that most captivated Aubrey Plaza, someone who has been a fan of the infamous working relationship between Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands since the very beginning.
To find a person you are willing to spend your life with is a privilege not everyone gets, but Cassavetes and Rowlands went one step further and took their matrimony into their work. The two creatives were buoyed by their intimacy. The duo were able to approach every subject without taboo, unlike their contemporaries.
Rowlands, in particular, is often remembered as one of the greatest actors of all time, giving all-encompassing performances that are made alive with her often unpredictable and deeply human instincts, always knowing how to heighten the most intense and uncomfortable moments through her commitment to complete vulnerability and truth.
There is one film that captures this quality the most, according to Plaza, with the actor describing her love for A Woman Under the Influence. The disparate beauty of the movie left her completely breathless.
When discussing this, Plaza said, “It was hard for me to pick a Cassavetes film, although I think this is my favourite of his movies. But A Woman Under the Influence is up there.” The real reason for her appreciation was the combination of the married creatives: “I loved Gena Rowlands, and I think the approach that Cassavetes had when he was shooting films, especially with her, and how real those scenes feel, there’s a chaotic kind of vibe to his movies. It’s almost so real that it’s painful when you watch her perform in his movies”.
Making a movie which is genuinely difficult to watch is no mean feat. However, Rowlands and Cassavetes achieve this quality through their confrontational stories and ability to dig deeper in moments that we want to shy away from. Their performances are uncomfortable. Unbearable, largely, because they show the audience a vision of themselves within the spectrum of the deeply flawed characters.
The picture would impact her as a performer, “When I started watching Cassavetes’ movies, I understood performance on a different level than I ever had before,” explained Plaza. “It felt so real to me that I couldn’t get over it. I would rewind those movies and watch them over and over again, and I’m always just blown away by her performance”. While Plaza is known for her comedic talents, comedy is just another way that we deal with pain, something that Cassavetes’ characters certainly do as they grapple with their inner demons out in the open, for everyone to see.
