I hate that kid.

Gena Rowlands is the eponymous character in John Cassavetes' Gloria, a woman who inherits a neighbor's young son when the mob guns down the rest of his family, initiating a chase for the accountant's book left in his possession. But Gloria is far from useless in this circumstance, because she has mob connections herself and proves to be an incredible badass. I could watch Rowlands blow dudes away all day. I also like the decrepit New York of the film, where every building feels like it's falling apart, and a lot of the mob guys seem to have grown old and useless (The Way of the Samurai would get back t this idea). It's thematically useful, because they're out to kill a 6-year-old; it's generational. That kid is pretty irritating though. I eventually fell on the side of loving this movie, but he was hard to take. Always running off and doing the wrong thing as you might expect, but also talking tough like he's an adult character - it just set my teeth on edge. But it's also interesting. To him, Gloria is all women - a mother, a lover, an enemy, a friend - it's like a crazy whirlwind mother-son romance that perhaps only the talents of Rowlands and Cassavetes prevent from feeling creepy.

The plot is implausible-- the kid is annoying-- but Gena Rowlings is amazing and the film trucks along and feels much shorter than its two hour runtime. So good overall.