Gloria (1980)

Phil Dawn: I am the man. I am the man. I am the man, do you hear me? I am the man! I am the man! Not you, you’re not the man! Do you hear me? I’ll do anything I can. I am the man!

Instead of watching the next DW Griffith on the List, I picked a movie I knew I would like.  And I liked it even better than I remembered!

The setting is New York City.  Gloria (Gina Rowlands) is a friend and neighbor to the Dawn family.  She happens to come over to borrow some coffee while the family is waiting in terror for mob hitmen. Accountant Jack Dawn (Buck Henry) has been skimming from the top of the organization’s earnings and, worse, has kept a record of its finances in a secret book.  Gloria very reluctantly agrees to take the family’s six-year-old son Phil (John Adames).  Dad gives Phil the book, believing it will provide for the boy’s future.  This could not be further from the truth.  Gloria and Phil, the only surviving Dawn, are on the run from hitmen for the remainder of the story.

Gloria doesn’t like kids and Phil is quite a handful.  They spar throughout.  It turns that she was formerly the mob boss’s moll and knows just exactly how ruthless it is.  The same history has left her mighty handy with a gun and she is not hesitant to use it.

The incredible Oscar-nominated performance of Gena Rowlands as the pistol-packing heroine is an excellent reason to watch. She manages to be tough and tender, sometimes at the same time.  I had forgotten most of the details and enjoyed this all over again. It is violent but oh so amusing. It’s not the usual Cassavetes fare but you can still detect the hand of a master filmmaker.