“But the movies set you up and no matter how bright you are, you believe it.”
An extract from Gena Rowlands’ beautiful monologue in John Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moskowitz,
You know, I think that movies are a conspiracy… because they set you up… They set you up from the time you’re a little kid. They set you up to believe in everything…in ideals and strength and good guys and romance—-and, of course, love… So…you go out, you start looking. Doesn’t happen, you keep looking. You get a job…and you spend a lot of time fixing up things—-your apartment and jazz. And you learn how to be feminine—-you know, quotes: “feminine”? You learn how to cook… But there’s no Charles Boyer in my life…I never even met a Charles Boyer. I never met Clark Gable. I never met Humphrey Bogart…I mean, they don’t exist—-that’s the truth. But the movies set you up and no matter how bright you are, you believe it.
(Minnie and Moskowiz, 1971)
Read my review of Minnie and Moskowitz here.