Gina Gershon is good at making toughness inviting, without making it harmless. We rate her most highly when a film gives her someone to play against and enough time for the attraction to become complicated.
Fi1m perspective
Watch Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly planning a crime in Bound (1996): their interest in each other matters more than the mechanics of the scheme. Gershon's Corky is an ex-con, Tilly's Violet a woman involved with a mobster, but those descriptions only get us started. We were caught up in their attraction because the actors make plotting together feel intimate. Gershon gives the tough lead someone worth trusting, and something to risk beyond getting caught.
After small roles in films including Pretty in Pink (1986) and Cocktail (1988), Showgirls (1995) and Bound brought her to prominence. Showgirls cast her as Cristal Connors for Paul Verhoeven; Face/Off (1997) followed with the supporting role of Sasha Hassler. The subsequent career has largely involved supporting film parts and recurring television roles, including Riverdale (2018–2019). The recurring demand has been for seduction, toughness or camp, a useful combination for a performer but a narrow set of requests.
The Wachowskis get more from her than a knowing manner in Bound: Corky has a relationship to make credible, and Tilly gives her something to respond to. Bill Pope's glossy cinematography and Eve Cauley's polished, retro production design suit the characters' posturing. At times the camera flourishes and carefully arranged surroundings compete with the women, and the danger becomes less convincing. Gershon and Tilly keep us interested even when a complication seems included chiefly to demonstrate the scriptwriters' ingenuity.
In Eli Roth's Thanksgiving (2023), playing Amanda Collins, she has less room. Gershon and Rick Hoffman play adults who were in charge on the night of the opening Black Friday riot, and both understand the nasty comic tone. We enjoy that assurance, but the thin whodunnit and a middle stretch that marks time limit how much a supporting performance can do. The film is worth an evening for slasher enthusiasts; it is a limited introduction to Gershon. Start with Bound, with a little patience for the directors' flourishes.
Biography
Gina L. Gershon is an American actress, singer and author. She was born on 10 June 1962 in the San Fernando Valley, California, and graduated with a BFA in drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1983. She co-founded the New York theatre company Naked Angels.
Gershon made her screen debut in the early 1980s and gained attention in films including Pretty in Pink (1986), Cocktail (1988) and Red Heat (1988). She is known for roles in Showgirls (1995), Bound (1996), Face/Off (1997), The Insider (1999), P.S. I Love You (2007), Killer Joe (2011) and Blockers (2018). Her television work includes recurring parts in Rescue Me, How to Make It in America and Riverdale (as Gladys Jones). She appeared as Amanda Collins in the 2023 film Thanksgiving.
