Love Streams: A Review

By Alexander Gordon

An oddly surreal film about a brother and sister reuniting couldn’t be more heartwrenching. In John Cassavetes’ Love Streams we see this play out in full as two damaged people reach for each other and find a sibling bond that can not be broken. 

This is a beautiful thing that is yet to be replicated. The film opens on Robert Harmon (Cassavetes), a pulp writer with an aptitude for alcohol and the women he surrounds himself with. Children roam, bodies go unclothed, and profanity fills the frame, a chaos that traces back to his own lack of intimacy. 

Meanwhile, his sister, Sarah Lawson (Rowlands), is battling a brutal divorce and custody fight for her daughter. She loses, and her mental state turns manic. Their reunion at Robert’s door is desperate, hopeless, and painful. It concludes with a dream-like sequence of ballet dances and no real explanation, a moment that delivers feeling without offering reason. 

Cassavetes himself stars alongside his wife, Gena Rowlands, anchoring both family threads. The film climaxes as the two of them come together and realize they need each other more than they need anyone else. Co-written by Cassavetes and Ted Allan and adapted from Allan’s 1980 stage play, it won the Golden Lion at the 1984 Venice International Film Festival. 

This is a long film, built on improvisation and claustrophobic framing, which makes for an intense emotional ride. Loneliness is not just a spectacle here; it’s the force that pulls audiences into Cassavetes’ characters. Grief brought together is a powerful thing. If you are struggling with loneliness or grief, this is a film that can help you through that process.

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