Two closely bound, emotionally wounded siblings (real-life spouses John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands) reunite after years apart.Unlike his earlier films that were independent and in many ways raging against the Hollywood system, this time Cassavetes is working for Cannon, a company perhaps now best known for their 1980s action films. How much control they had over him is unclear, but allegedly they did attempt to keep him in line.But the Cassavetes of old is still here. He has his regular acting troupe: Seymour Cassel as Jack Lawson, Al Ruban (who was also cinematographer) as Milton Kravitz, and of course his wife Gena Rowlands. And there is still a bit more conversation than some viewers might like (Cassavetes has a hard time keeping his films under two hours).Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars, noting "Viewers raised on trained and tame movies may be uncomfortable in the world of Cassavetes; his films are built around lots of talk and the waving of arms and the invoking of the gods... Sometimes (as in 'Husbands') the wild truth-telling approach evaporates into a lot of empty talk and play-acting. In 'Love Streams', it works." Indeed, this is the biggest drawback to Cassavetes' films: his love for excessive dialogue that does not advance the plot. While it does exist in "Love Streams", it seems to not be as grandiose as in the past.

"Love Streams," directed by and starring John Cassavetes, is a showpiece for the wonderful acting of Gena Rowlands. Having said that, I'll add my opinion that, other than Ms. Rowlands' superb talent, nothing much about the film is worth seeing. The film gives us a few days in the life of Robert Harmon (Cassavetes.) Harmon is an author--although we never see him writing--who is intelligent, handsome, and rich. He's also a womanizer--often with four of five women in a night--a drunk, and a thoughtless SOB.Meanwhile, Sarah Lawson (Gena Rowlands), his sister, is described as a "kook" in some of the movie's promotional material. She is not a kook. She's a troubled woman with serious mental health problems that appear to represent classic bipolar disorder.Harmon loves his sister, but isn't prepared to help her in any way other than offering her his home as a place to stay. Meanwhile, he's horribly cruel to his biological son, whom he hasn't seen for 12 years. He's equally cruel to a nightclub singer who apparently loves him, although he forces his way into her car, insists on driving her home when he's falling-down drunk, and tries to seduce her mother. (At least that's what I think he was trying to do--the screenplay was muddled and I was losing interest by then.)I actually think that director Cassavetes has a real fondness for the person being portrayed by actor Casavetes. I guess that if you share that fondness, you'll like the film. I didn't share it, and I didn't like it.Note: Medical howler: At one point, young Dr. Williams examines Sarah and says, "Her pupils aren't reacting properly, and she has a stiff neck. She needs medical attention." Harmon says something like, "You have to leave now doctor. I'll take care of my sister." Dr. Williams is describing signs of serious intracranial pathology. Those are not signs that will disappear with a warm hug and some brandy. We're talking life-threatening stroke or meningitis. Bad scene, but pretty much par for this film.

One of the Great American directors (directing and starring in his last great film) with his wonderful Gena Rowlands told an American tale as old as the Hollywood hills in the dreaded 80's film wash-out era. Check it - a writer who lives with a bunch of beautiful "hookers, babes, whoever these chicks are" while he gets his stuff together while his unhappily married sister (G. Rowlands) is having a bad decade, you have the beginning of a story.The plot alone with some wonderful performances by bit players and some clueless extras and a kid that Cassavets has scenes with (like he did in Marvin and Tige; just acting) that are VERY REAL and so non mainstream, I can't believe this wasn't a HIT in the mid 80's. I've been a film buff for 37 years and this should be shown at Christmas, instead of that horrifying Jimmy Stewart "It's a Wonderful Life" bad want-to-be Rod Serling story about Americans and their foibles. Check this out, even if you're not a Cassavetes fan. It will be well worth your time and effort and Gena Rowlands is wonderful in it. 9 out of 10.

This is a late great work of a master director. It is one of the most original films I have ever seen, though Cassavetes work was mostly improvised and so always had a spontaneous and creative feel. Love Streams is so good because it is the work of a highly creative mind at the height of his talents. It is haunting in its depiction of an unusual brother and sister and their love for each other and for family (in the case of the sister played by the great Gena Rowlands in a beautiful, though at times scary, performance.) More than anything it is a study of the meaning of love itself. The look of the film and the editing alone make this one worth watching.