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Gena Rowlands,
Gena Rowlands,
Peter Falk,
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John Cassavetes,
John Cassavetes
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: Geneon
: Drama, Independent
: 147 min.
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This title is currently out of print.
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John Cassavetes' harrowing masterpiece charts the emotional meltdown of a suburban housewife and its effects on her blue-collar Italian family. Gena Rowlands stars as Mabel Longhetti, a mother of three whose husband Nick (Peter Falk) works as a construction worker; a mismatched couple like so many others in Cassavetes films, the Longhettis seem to be complete opposites: she's impetuous, extroverted, and fragile, while he's controlling, distant, and hard-bitten. Their differences underscore a series of domestic dramas, culminating in a nervous breakdown that sends Mabel to a psychiatric hospital for six months, only to return to a home environment on even thinner ice than before. The improvisational style central to Cassavetes' vision is at its most acute throughout A Woman Under the Influence. Like its title heroine, the film threatens to veer out of control at any time, its shape and scope defined not by narrative but by the emotional upheaval at its center. Embracing the full spectrum of the Longhettis' relationship, from seismic bursts of high drama to small, even trivial moments of domestic tedium, its long scenes relentlessly probe every nook and cranny of the family's life, drawing out each moment for maximum emotional impact; the film is by turns beautiful and ugly, illuminating and frustrating, and it features a performance by Rowlands as heartwrenching and unforgettable as any ever committed to celluloid. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Please click here for the Criterion edition.
You might also enjoy:
Opening Night
Raw, difficult Cassavetes drama staring the amazing Rowlands
Minnie and Moskowitz
More lighthearted Cassavetes again featuring Rowlands, here with Seymour Cassel
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| Magic
by RJones3
October 8, 2008 - 6:18 PM PDT
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| My usual routine is to analyze a move to death, not so much to pretend superior knowledge, but to expand my limited worldview. This movie left me speechless. Its writer and director, John Cassavetes, is a magician. That is the word that comes to mind when I try to make sense of the explanation of his craft on the accompanying interview. But credit is also due Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk for their performances of a lifetime. Don't miss the interview with them as well. It is funny and revealing, but also deepens the mystery of Cassavetes' achievement. Keep in mind that this movie almost didn't make it into theaters at all, and that 32% of viewers in one survey thought it was "crap." |
| Fantastic acting
by Azdave
April 29, 2008 - 7:29 PM PDT
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0 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| Amazing acting. I was incredibly impressed! |
| maximum strength
by randomcha
July 15, 2003 - 12:07 PM PDT
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| this is the classic cassavetes film, the one to see if you only see one. gena rowlands is a goddess. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.35)
127 Votes
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