Nick Cassavetes’ directing début Unhook the Stars is not the first film in which Gena Rowlands plays an older woman who gets involved with the fate of a little boy. In Gloria (1980), by her husband John Cassavetes, she was the former mistress of a gangster who takes care of the son of couple who fall victim to the Mafia. In the film by her son Nick she plays the role of Mildred, a widow and mother of two. Her son, successful and married, is mother’s favourite but he is too busy to worry about her. However she quarrels continuously with her daughter, who still lives in her parent’s home. One day the neighbour leaves wife and child after a huge fight. The young and assertive woman next-door (played by Marisa Tomei) asks Mildred for help. When Mildred’s daughter leaves the house angrily after a quarrel, Mildred decides to care for the little boy next-door and becomes increasingly involved with his fate and that of his mother.Unhook the Stars is a charming film, full of understanding for his characters. Nick Cassavetes gives a sympathetic, yet honest and unsentimental view of live in the suburbs without resorting to the biting realism of his father. Gena Rowlands’ Mildred is not the only reason for going to see the film: Gérard Depardieu as the gentleman-trucker who falls for Mildred is wonderful too.
