A Woman Under the Influence
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Movie Reviews of A Woman Under the Influence
Movie Review: Get under this film's influence, now!
Summary: 5 Stars
Coming from a background in improvisational theater, Cassavetes has the ability to write film scripts that show us exactly how far conventional storytelling has wandered from reality. Rather than doing this, as the early postmodernists would, by defying the conventions of narrative, Cassavetes chooses to defy, primarily, the conventions of scene framing and dialogue scripting. If you eavesdrop on a conversation between two people who know each other, you are likely to catch them at a moment where one is referring to something that the other has said in a previous conversation, and also employing irony, and also tonally begging the other to excuse the fact that he is beginning to employ such irony with a regularity that threatens to dull the other's perception of his character. John Cassavetes is unafraid to start a scene with this type of exchange, rather than imposing the situation-simplifying and character-stilting type of directness into his scripts that often causes perceptive viewers to suspect that the characters in a scene are not speaking to each other, but rather to the audience. The result of this technique, in his various films, has been mixed, but in A Woman Under The Influence, he really manages to make the viewer empathize with unedited reality, by sculpting a story from large chunks of it, and telling the story in the way it would have been likely to happen, rather than the way it would have been likely to be told.
This can all seem incredibly self-conscious at times, because Cassavetes' attempt to remove the character of the filmmaker from his script in A Woman... is the one thing which most prominently stands out. It requires an acute awareness of his medium for an artist to attempt what Cassavetes has attempted here, and the attempt itself is likely to provoke the usual maelstrom of shouts of "pretentious" from detractors of artists who seem to attempt to provoke particular reactions. But content-wise, A Woman Under The Influence is one of the least pretentious films ever created, and in my opinion, one of the most important.
Movie Review: Courageous and Uncompromising Film
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is a breakthrough - courageous and uncompromising view at the family and at the marriage where both spouses love each other deeply but they are both not well, they don't know how communicate when somebody else present, even their own children. They could be happy on the deserted island but not surrounded by friends and families. I was fascinated by both, Peter Falk's and Gena Rowlands' performances. She looked like a little girl, trapped in a woman's body - confused, insecure, listening to what is inside of her. When she said to her children, "I hope that you will never grow up", she meant it because she never felt comfortable as a grown up. I could not take my yes off Rowlands. Her performance is on par with the best study of nervous breakdown I've seen, and this is Liv Ullmann in Bergman's "Face to Face".
Peter Falks was also a revelation - I love him as Lt. Columbo in the TV series but he is a completely different character here; in a way, he is as mentally unbalanced as his wife is. The fact that he loves her but never hesitates to abuse her makes him terrifying - you never know how he will act in the next moment, and he does not know himself. Directing and writing are absolutely first class, and I am very exited to see more films by John Cassavetes, the Godfather of American Independent film-making and a father of American "New Wave"
4.5/5
Movie Review: Absolutely Unforgettable
Summary: 5 Stars
I think the director hit the bullseye here.
Not co-incidentally the documentary "A Decade Under the Influence" was named after this film--showcasing those renegade filmmakers of the 1970s who defied Hollywood in their portrayal of realistic, sympathethic characters and the everyday living room dramas encasing them.
Gena Rowlands in her tour-de-force performace as the Woman Under the Influence, implied insantiy, but truthfully, just trying to function in the world around her--her blue collar foreman husband, her children whom she adores just short of pathology, and the enclosure of her housewife home.
it doesn't matter, at least to me, what drives her off the edge, just watch Gena Rowlands having that marvelous breakdown in her living room which we all deserve to have, fighting off invisible demons, while her dimwitted husband tries to deal with the unraveling of his wife. "Now don't go crazy on me" he reasons, while she just fights and lashes out against mental illness demons that seem to be coming in closer and closet to her physical space. See it and you will never, ever forget her piece of acting.
It's one of the greatest, most harrowing pieces of cinema I've ever seen. It's a slowbuild up, and the raison d'etre for it happens right under your nose. It speaks to the insanity of the times--a woman trying so hard to --again Im trying to rationalze what's happening here, but truthfully, you just have to see the film for yourself and see what's going and maybe make up your own mind,.
I see a complexity in the human spirit, and a challenge of wills, between the rational and the unrational,
all brought forth by Ms. Rowland. There's more to chew on and digest, but I suggest this movie for
its acting alone. I've never forgotten it and may write more on it here, but it's just one of those things that stands alone in time. Thank God this movie will never be remade, because it just wouldn't make any sense now but also for the very reason that the Mabel role belongs to no-one else than Gena Rowlands and Gena Rowlands alone.
Movie Review: Worth Seeing
Summary: 4 Stars
The relationship between Mabel and Nick is the heart of the film. Just when you think Falk is playing Nick as the ever-suffering patient husband, he shows the character to be much more complex. Rowlands as Mabel is even better - there isn't a facial expression or mannerism that's wasted. Her longing to connect with other people is almost painful to watch. Although several of Mabel's actions strongly imply mental illness, it's fascinating to think about the fine line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior among the characters. Why is Mabel's Swan Lake routine any crazier than the guys who burst into song at the dinner table? Why is her after-school party any crazier than the trip to the beach? I think it's too simplistic to just say it's sexism. Much more subtle, often unspoken rules and boundaries seem to be in play. I also appreciated Cassavetes's refusal to romanticize working class life. I know first-hand that there's warmth and humor and devotion to family, but often there's also a particular kind of brutality, close-mindedness, and helplessness that can deeply damage the lives of people who have to make a living out of their sweat. Movie Review: An American Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
There's not much else to say about Cassvetes' film other than it's a masterpiece of the dramatic arts. Unrelenting and fascinating, it depicts a young wife's descent into madness. It's a bitter slice of life, but it's also exactly that: life captured in all its pain and glory through artistry of the highest order. Gena Rowland's performance is probably one of the finest ever captured on film. If you enjoy this film, I also recommend tracking down "The Pumpkin Eater" starring Anne Bancroft - a similar film of a woman driven to breakdown by the cruel informalities of what we call love. Handled with sleek overtones of British filmmaking during the 60s, it may stand as a counterpoint to the gritty reality of America's great "Woman Under the Influence."