Gena Rowlands Starred in a Movie About Montana

News broke last night and this morning about the death of actress Gena Rowlands. She might be most well known for playing Allie in "The Notebook" and in my opinion, her death in that movie is one of the most moving scenes in all of cinema.

This morning Gena Rowlands and "Montana" were trending together and I wondered if she had a Montana connection--maybe she had a house here, or relatives, but then I stumbled on a movie I'd never heard of.

Gena Rowlands made a movie called "Montana". It's about a Montana family who are offered money to sell their ranch land to an oil company. The husband in the family wants to sell. The wife, played by Rowlands, does not. The film also stars Lea Thompson.

That plot description echoes documentaries I've seen about Montanans in the same situation. The movie was made in 1990 and was a TV movie (remember those?) that premiered on TNT, according to Wikipedia. She was nominated for a CableAce award for her role.

If you're wondering what else you might have seen Rowlands in, she's had a long career. She earned an Oscar nomination for her leading role in "A Woman Under the Influence", but one of my favorite roles was when she played Sandra Bullock's mother in "Hope Floats."

Her character was eccentric and wise, and she had a taxidermy business which meant there were all manner of creatures in the background wearing wide-brimmed hats and boas. The movie's plot is sad, but Rowlands's character brings some welcome levity to the story.

Rest in peace, Gena Rowlands.