This Highly-Strung Thriller Starring Gena Rowlands Is One of Robert Eggers’ Favorite Movies of All Time

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Robert Eggers‘ recent retelling of F. W. Murnau‘s iconic 1922 film Nosferatu was a successful gothic hit, earning critical praise for being “marvelously orchestrated”. Ten years into his film career, Eggers has since become an established director known for his chilling period works such as The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman, which combine elements of horror and mythology. The filmmaker is heavily influenced by raw, atmospheric cinema, and recently he has expressed his favorite cinematic masterpieces to IMDb .

From The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to Akira Kurosawa‘s Throne of Blood, one of Eggers’ favorite classics is John Cassavetes’ Opening Night, a 1977 psychological drama featuring the magnificent Gena Rowlands in one of the most acclaimed performances of her career. The indie film was directed and written by Cassavetes, telling the story of a famous stage actress who spirals into a psychological and professional crisis that threatens to ruin her life. Deemed “unflinching” by Eggers, Opening Night is as much a study of mental deterioration as it is an exploration of the blurred boundaries between performance and reality.

‘Opening Night’ Blurs the Lines Between an Actor’s Persona on Stage and their Real Life Personality

Gena Rowlands as Myrtle crying while looking in the mirror in the film Opening Night — Image via Faces Distribution

In Opening Night, the plot centers around Myrtle Gordon (Rowlands), a theatrical stage actress at the height of her career. Despite being middle-aged, she is respected in her field and has a loyal fanbase supporting her during her latest starring role in a play called The Second Woman. One night, however, everything turns dark when an obsessive teenage fan, Nancy Stein (Laura Johnson), chases after Myrtle and is killed by an oncoming car.

Having witnessed the tragic accident, Myrtle becomes deeply disturbed by it all and slowly teeters into a depression. Her paranoia takes over to the point that she starts to see visions of Nancy backstage, which affects her focus during rehearsals. The worst part is that Myrtle has to be slapped by her co-star in an emotionally tense scene, but the play’s writer Sarah Goode (Joan Blondell) taunts her to confront the hopeless agism of her character. Throughout the play’s previews, Myrtle’s sanity rapidly crumbles as she forgets lines and breaks the fourth wall. Violent illusions of Nancy make her lose her sense of identity, leading the actress to physical harm.

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A woman of influence.

What unfolds is not just a narrative about a woman on the verge of collapse but also a meditation on the nature of performance itself. As opening night approaches, the lines between fiction and true self blur together. The suffocating expectations placed on Myrtle by the theatrical world are too much for her to handle. Yet, the show must go on, and Myrtle’s withering spirit is pushed to its limits beneath the spotlight one final time.

Robert Eggers Regularly Refers to ‘Opening Night’ for Inspiration and Entertainment

Exploring the depths of the human psyche, John Cassavetes’ films are known for their improvisational boldness, and Opening Night is no exception. The most striking point of the film is how the director draws the audience into Myrtle’s world by shooting most of the action during the play’s rehearsals. By doing this, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment, forgetting if the actors are truly expressing their feelings or just portraying a fictional character. This element wouldn’t have been possible without Gena Rowlands’ tear-jerking performance.

At the heart of Opening Night is Gena Rowlands’ towering performance as Myrtle Gordon. Rowlands, who often collaborated with her husband Cassavetes, brings an expert level of emotional complexity to the role. Myrtle’s on-stage breakdowns, off-stage phantoms, and private moments of reflection feel appallingly real, as if the viewer is not merely watching a play but living through Myrtle’s despair alongside her. Thematically, Opening Night resonates with Eggers’ passion for exploring existential questions. Myrtle’s identity crisis taps into universal fears even relevant in today’s Hollywood.

It makes sense that Opening Night is one of Robert Eggers’s favorite films he often looks to for inspiration. Mirroring the dark vulnerability present in Nosferatu, the psychological film does not offer easy answers, but instead, it unfolds in a slow burn. As Eggers put it so well, “It’s a film unlike any other, and it grabs the audience by the hand and leads them to places they would never expect.”