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Movies / On DVD / A Woman Under The Influence
A Woman Under The Influence

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A Woman Under The Influence (1974)

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Reviews Counted:19

Fresh:17

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 27 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: John Cassavetes's A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is an emotionally devastating drama that charts the mental disintegration of a California housewife. Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands) has no emotional... John Cassavetes's A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is an emotionally devastating drama that charts the mental disintegration of a California housewife. Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands) has no emotional or creative outlets. Instead, she pours all her energy into her family, spending her days waiting for her husband Nick (Cassavetes regular and COLUMBO star Peter Falk) to arrive home from work, and anxiously awaiting her children's return from school. This dependence causes Mabel to suffer a nervous breakdown, forcing her to spend time in a mental hospital. Meanwhile, Nick struggles mightily to keep his family together. When Mabel returns six months later, dazed and shaken, a "welcome home" party threatens to trigger another collapse. As the confused, overwhelmed, and hypersensitive Mabel, Rowlands delivers one of the screen's most excruciatingly honest performances. This can directly be attributed to Rowlands's real-life husband Cassavetes, whose insistence on getting to the inner core of his characters' emotional states defined him as an artist. Falk portrays Nick with a harsh yet delicate pathos that is also honest and heartbreaking. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is an awe-inspiring work of art from a maverick American director. [More]

Starring: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Matthew Cassel, Matthew Laborteaux

Starring: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Matthew Cassel, Matthew Laborteaux, Christina Grisanti, Katherine Cassavetes, Lady Rowlands, Fred Draper, Mario Gallo, John Finnegan

Director: John Cassavetes

Director: John Cassavetes
Producer: Sam Shaw
Composer: Bo Harwood

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Mar 24, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for A Woman Under The Influence

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Watching 35 years later, you’re struck by its forward sense of therapeutic misfortune.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
10/21/09
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

Falk and the rest of the cast are exceptional -- even the smallest roles feel spot-on -- but Rowlands is the film.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/20/09
Tim Grierson
Tim Grierson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gena Rowlands gives a career-defining tour de force performance that is a pinnacle of film-acting in an earth-shattering film that is unlike any other ever made.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/11/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

An exceptional film .. a study in the complexities of love, in the subtleties of mental disorder and in the way society demands rigid conformity

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/09/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/12/08
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John Cassavetes was one of those rare artists of whom it could be said that his flaws were his strengths, and his strengths were his flaws...Consequently, the film has to rank somewhere between the two in the Cassavetes canon, and I'd opt for putting it c

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/12/07
Dan Schneider
Dan Schneider
culturevulture.net

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/07
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

A insightful essay on sexual politics: Rowlands is terrific as a housewife who crosses the line into sanity. With a light feminist touch, she is perceived as a victim of repressive patriarchal order.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/21/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

An insightful essay on sexual politics. As Rowlands delicately crosses the line of sanity, it becomes apparent that imposed social roles are the cause.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/30/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Always remains intense and popping with energy.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/02/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
08/07/05
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

The most frightening scenes are extremely compelling, and this is a thoughtful film that does prompt serious discussion.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Nora Sayre
Nora Sayre
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/26/05
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/05/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
10/18/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/09/02
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The knee-jerk, or neckless cinematography (in other words, it's all over the place) is horrendous, unprofessional and junkie. A mess. And the two-a-half-hour running time is no less ludicrous and a feat on its own.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/13/01
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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