A Woman Under the Influence
Directed by John Cassavetes
Written by John Cassavetes
1974, USA
“Woman is a symptom of Man” — Jacques Lacan
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) tells the story of a marriage in crisis. Mabel (Gena Rowlands) is suffering from an unnamed psychological condition that is threatening to tear her family apart. Her husband, Nick (Peter Faulk), desperately tries to keep everything together but he is being stretched beyond his own sanity. The children are passive in the beginning until the finale where they become extremely defensive of their mother, pushing their father away, becoming angelic, innocent buffers to Nick’s violent attempts to break her spell.
Cassavetes depicts marriage in A Woman Under the Influence as a battle where two competing definitions of reality constantly clash. Nick is stuck in an ideal memory of his wife when she was happy, most likely before they had children but Cassavetes...
Directed by John Cassavetes
Written by John Cassavetes
1974, USA
“Woman is a symptom of Man” — Jacques Lacan
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) tells the story of a marriage in crisis. Mabel (Gena Rowlands) is suffering from an unnamed psychological condition that is threatening to tear her family apart. Her husband, Nick (Peter Faulk), desperately tries to keep everything together but he is being stretched beyond his own sanity. The children are passive in the beginning until the finale where they become extremely defensive of their mother, pushing their father away, becoming angelic, innocent buffers to Nick’s violent attempts to break her spell.
Cassavetes depicts marriage in A Woman Under the Influence as a battle where two competing definitions of reality constantly clash. Nick is stuck in an ideal memory of his wife when she was happy, most likely before they had children but Cassavetes...
- 1/20/2015
- by Cody Lang
- SoundOnSight
Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence A Woman Under The Influence Review Pt.1 Eventually, Mabel's eccentricities — her chattiness, her nervous ticks, her habit of talking to herself — are seen as severe mental problems. Nick's mother (Katherine Cassavetes, the filmmaker's real-life mother), fearing for the safety of her son and grandchildren, wants Mabel sent to a mental institution. Nick eventually acquiesces and has his wife committed for several months. When Mabel returns, she's a mere shadow of the woman she used to be. Gone are her chattiness, her eccentricities — and her personality. In his own inarticulate, boorish manner, Nick tries to get his wife to return to the way she used to be. Throughout it all, Gena Rowlands telegraphs her encroaching madness by proportionally increasing her number of ticks, grimaces, and half-smiles. (Rowlands and John Cassavetes should have taken a good look at Ingmar Bergman's Through...
- 12/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A Woman Under The Influence (1974) Direction and screenplay: John Cassavetes Cast: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes, Eddie Shaw Oscar Movies Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence Steven Spielberg is a respected film director. Many will even call him an auteur. When you watch a Spielberg film, you know it's a Spielberg film — or at least one made by his myriad imitators. John Cassavetes is a respected film director. No one will deny the fact that Cassavetes is a film auteur. When you watch a Cassavetes film, you know it's a Cassavetes film — or at least a Henry Jaglom imitation of a Cassavetes film. Now, apart from self-important works like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, it is still acceptable to dismiss Spielberg's films and even Spielberg himself. On the other hand, if you want to be taken seriously as an intellectual film connoisseur,...
- 12/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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