Living with Cassavetes must have been a bitch.
In an audio interview of Cassavetes, his says that "under the influence" means that women, after a few years of marriage, come under the influence of their husbands. Cassavetes' comments on men and women are shocking today, and I looked at the years mentioned on the DVD. "A Woman Under the Influence" was released in 1974, and the interview was done in 1975, after the film's successful release by a distributor.
In the mid-seventies, women's lib was just taking hold. Cassavetes became a working adult in the Fifties, the decade all those women's lib books were written about. And here Cassavetes is in 1975 saying married women were under the influence of their husbands, that Mabel is under the influence of Nick (played by Peter Falk), under his control, he's the man of the house, and he's the one who tells her what to do, how to act. "Just tell me how you want me to act," Mabel says several times. Nick not only tells her, he screams at her and slaps her down a few times. Then he says, "Just be yourself!" It's a brutal film about the relationship between Nick and Mabel.
Because Cassavetes wrote the screenplay and directed "A Woman Under the Influence," I give some credence to his commentary about the movie; I'm sure he means what he says, but I don't necessarily believe it's true. Cassavetes' films are works of art, and in all works of art, the creator puts himself into the work; his subconscious is in there as well as his conscious. So I take it upon myself to presume there's more in "A Woman Under the Influence" than its creator knows and understands.
I think Cassavetes' scripts are emotional outpourings and not necessarily accurate portrayals of the details of, say, insanity. So when Cassavetes wrote the script, I don't think he knew anything more about insanity than the rest of us. But he knew Mabel and he poured himself into her.
So although Cassavetes may say that Mabel is socially inept and not crazy, I'm willing to think he may be wrong. I look at Mabel's behavior, and I wonder if she has a borderline personality disorder. I wonder _what_ her problem is, but I definitely think she's not under the bell- shaped curve of normality. What I saw in the movie is a woman who desperately needs help and can't get it. (The most heartbreaking scene for me was when Nick was verbally abusing her and Mabel asked her father to stand up for her. The schmuck stood up and said he didn't understand why he should stand up.)
Because Cassavetes didn't have the expertise to deal realistically with mental illness, we don't get a good understanding of exactly what Mabel's issues are, but we know her relationship with Nick is abusive. I saw Nick as sicker than Mabel, unable to relate to her as a person. His job comes first (he's on call 24 hours a day it seems, and he always goes when he's called), his friends come first (after working a 24-hour shift, he brings a dozen guys over unannounced for breakfast at seven in the morning), his mother comes first (too much to mention).
Because I assume Cassavetes was writing and creating the movie from within himself, I have to wonder what it was like for Gena Rowlands to be married to him. Cassavetes clearly believed that wives were under the influence of their husbands, that the man was in control of the marriage. There Nick is slapping Mabel several times to get her under his control, yelling at her, and generally abusing her emotionally and physically.
In the interview, Cassavetes says that Nick was wrong to have Mabel committed. Mabel isn't crazy. Her behavior isn't exactly socially acceptable, but that's because she's socially inept. At the end of the movie, Mabel comes home from the insane asylum, there's a homecoming party that falls into a shambles of accusations and yelling, Nick and Mabel have a physical fight with their three children screaming and trying to drag them apart, and Cassavetes says the movie has a happy ending because as they're preparing to go to bed the phone rings and Nick doesn't answer it. It's either his job or his mother, and Nick lets it ring as Mabel and he get ready for bed. That's a happy ending for Cassavetes.
Rowlands gives a towering performance as Mabel. Gena Rowlands is an actress I've seen in many films, and she's among a very few whom I rank as the best actresses of the 20th Century. Peter Falk is superb as Nick. He's another incredible actor probably better known now as the bumbling Columbo on that TV show. Cassavetes knew how to cast. Katherine Cassavetes was very good as Nick's mother; a cold bitch in control of her son and in hatred of her daughter-in-law. As Margaret Longhetti, Katherine manipulated Nick physically as well as emotionally, grabbing his suit and manhandling him as she screamed at him that Mabel was insane and not a fit mother for Nick's children.
I've described the plot loosely, and many will find the film difficult to watch. Life for Nick and Mabel is harrowing, and it's worse for their three children. It's all about watching Nick and Mabel spiral out of control and then back together - but the spiral is downhill all the way, even as they get back together. Our only hope is that their relationship will become more personal as Nick lets go the outside world that's been keeping them separated. My hope is that Nick realized he screwed up and that he lets his love for her control him more.
In an audio interview of Cassavetes, his says that "under the influence" means that women, after a few years of marriage, come under the influence of their husbands. Cassavetes' comments on men and women are shocking today, and I looked at the years mentioned on the DVD. "A Woman Under the Influence" was released in 1974, and the interview was done in 1975, after the film's successful release by a distributor.
In the mid-seventies, women's lib was just taking hold. Cassavetes became a working adult in the Fifties, the decade all those women's lib books were written about. And here Cassavetes is in 1975 saying married women were under the influence of their husbands, that Mabel is under the influence of Nick (played by Peter Falk), under his control, he's the man of the house, and he's the one who tells her what to do, how to act. "Just tell me how you want me to act," Mabel says several times. Nick not only tells her, he screams at her and slaps her down a few times. Then he says, "Just be yourself!" It's a brutal film about the relationship between Nick and Mabel.
Because Cassavetes wrote the screenplay and directed "A Woman Under the Influence," I give some credence to his commentary about the movie; I'm sure he means what he says, but I don't necessarily believe it's true. Cassavetes' films are works of art, and in all works of art, the creator puts himself into the work; his subconscious is in there as well as his conscious. So I take it upon myself to presume there's more in "A Woman Under the Influence" than its creator knows and understands.
I think Cassavetes' scripts are emotional outpourings and not necessarily accurate portrayals of the details of, say, insanity. So when Cassavetes wrote the script, I don't think he knew anything more about insanity than the rest of us. But he knew Mabel and he poured himself into her.
So although Cassavetes may say that Mabel is socially inept and not crazy, I'm willing to think he may be wrong. I look at Mabel's behavior, and I wonder if she has a borderline personality disorder. I wonder _what_ her problem is, but I definitely think she's not under the bell- shaped curve of normality. What I saw in the movie is a woman who desperately needs help and can't get it. (The most heartbreaking scene for me was when Nick was verbally abusing her and Mabel asked her father to stand up for her. The schmuck stood up and said he didn't understand why he should stand up.)
Because Cassavetes didn't have the expertise to deal realistically with mental illness, we don't get a good understanding of exactly what Mabel's issues are, but we know her relationship with Nick is abusive. I saw Nick as sicker than Mabel, unable to relate to her as a person. His job comes first (he's on call 24 hours a day it seems, and he always goes when he's called), his friends come first (after working a 24-hour shift, he brings a dozen guys over unannounced for breakfast at seven in the morning), his mother comes first (too much to mention).
Because I assume Cassavetes was writing and creating the movie from within himself, I have to wonder what it was like for Gena Rowlands to be married to him. Cassavetes clearly believed that wives were under the influence of their husbands, that the man was in control of the marriage. There Nick is slapping Mabel several times to get her under his control, yelling at her, and generally abusing her emotionally and physically.
In the interview, Cassavetes says that Nick was wrong to have Mabel committed. Mabel isn't crazy. Her behavior isn't exactly socially acceptable, but that's because she's socially inept. At the end of the movie, Mabel comes home from the insane asylum, there's a homecoming party that falls into a shambles of accusations and yelling, Nick and Mabel have a physical fight with their three children screaming and trying to drag them apart, and Cassavetes says the movie has a happy ending because as they're preparing to go to bed the phone rings and Nick doesn't answer it. It's either his job or his mother, and Nick lets it ring as Mabel and he get ready for bed. That's a happy ending for Cassavetes.
Rowlands gives a towering performance as Mabel. Gena Rowlands is an actress I've seen in many films, and she's among a very few whom I rank as the best actresses of the 20th Century. Peter Falk is superb as Nick. He's another incredible actor probably better known now as the bumbling Columbo on that TV show. Cassavetes knew how to cast. Katherine Cassavetes was very good as Nick's mother; a cold bitch in control of her son and in hatred of her daughter-in-law. As Margaret Longhetti, Katherine manipulated Nick physically as well as emotionally, grabbing his suit and manhandling him as she screamed at him that Mabel was insane and not a fit mother for Nick's children.
I've described the plot loosely, and many will find the film difficult to watch. Life for Nick and Mabel is harrowing, and it's worse for their three children. It's all about watching Nick and Mabel spiral out of control and then back together - but the spiral is downhill all the way, even as they get back together. Our only hope is that their relationship will become more personal as Nick lets go the outside world that's been keeping them separated. My hope is that Nick realized he screwed up and that he lets his love for her control him more.