"SLEEPERS WEST" Lloyd Nolan, Lynn Bari, Mary Beth Hughes. John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence” gives us a woman whose influences only gradually reveal themselves. 'A Woman Under The Influence' may be a misnomer. 1970's Hollywood may have defined itself with films like Godfather, Rocky, Annie Hall, and Deer Hunter but real, unpredictable, chaotic life was Cassavettes' territory. … A Woman Under the Influence is a rarity. It received two Academy Award nominations for … It stars his wife and most frequent collaborator, Gena Rowlands , and his friend Peter Falk , in roles perhaps suggested by his own marriage (how closely may be guessed by the fact that the two characters’ mothers are played by Lady Rowlands … A Woman Under the Influence. 3-14-1941 (On YouTube) for a limited time) - Duration: 1:14:32. They kind of spell out the story in a mysterious way I deal with the characters as any writer would deal with a character. “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) is perhaps the greatest of Cassavetes’ films (although a case can be made for “Love Streams” in 1984). Mabel, a wife and mother, is loved by her husband Nick but her mental illness proves to be a problem in the marriage. This uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family’s struggle to save her from herself. Chapter on The Making of A Woman Under the Influence (1972-1974) Click here for best printing of text. No film with such a message can end in joy, and for the filmmaker, that is generally another type of sacrifice. It requires one of the greatest of sacrifices, hope. It’s an exploration of a woman’s psychology written and filmed with much understanding and dedication. Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk give unforgettably harrowing performances as a married couple deeply in love but unable to express their ardor in terms the other can understand. The story of a family living in LA, and trying to live a life of quiet and not so quiet desperation. It’s all on Hulu. Not for John Cassavetes. A Woman Under the Influence is a 1974 American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes. Start your free trial to watch A Woman Under the Influence and other popular TV shows and movies including new releases, classics, Hulu Originals, and more. Showing all 4 items Jump to: Summaries (4) Summaries. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) Plot. (THE DOLORES MORAN CHANNEL) 108,970 views John Cassavetes ’ “A Woman Under the Influence” gives us a woman whose influences only gradually reveal themselves. While most people have tried to discern the meaning of the film’s title as being the alcohol or mental rages Mabel suffers, a deeper meaning might be that she is under the influence of two sexually domineering men- her father and husband, who still battle for control of her. It is a film about family, commitment, desperation, redemption, endurance and the struggles of the working class. And as they do, they give us insights not only into one specific, brilliantly created, woman but into some of the problems of surviving in a society where very few people are fully liberated. A Woman Under the Influence This uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family’s struggle to save her from herself. Above all else, `A Woman Under the Influence' is Anti-Hollywood, Anti-Establishment, Anti-Film. Whether or not that divide collapses when gender norms do, doctors agree the first episode tends to occur before 25, and is easily confused with, well, being under 25. ‘A Woman Under the Influence’: Hard drinking, hard living, not necessarily in that order. A Woman Under the Influence is intense, providing a portrayal of a working class family and the dynamics of family, marriage, sex and social interactions. On writing: A script is a series of words strung together. Showing all 4 items Jump to: Summaries (4) Summaries. A Woman Under the Influence ( 88 ) 8.2 2h 26min 1974 R Starring Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands (in two of the most harrowing screen performances of the 1970s) as a married couple deeply in love yet unable to express that love in terms the other can understand, the film is an uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil. It is a film that sucked me … A Woman Under the Influence (1974) Plot. And as they do, they give us insights not only into one specific, brilliantly created, woman but into some of the problems of surviving in a society where very few people are fully liberated. Acceptance is accomplishment. The film’s focus on a “female problem”, a “condition” that psychiatrists in earlier times referred to as hysteria, enriches it greatly […] A Woman Under the Influence's big break came when it was screened to great acclaim at the 1974 New York Film Festival, some 18 months after Cassavetes finished it. Mabel, a wife and mother, is loved by her husband Nick but her mental illness proves to be a problem in the marriage. A devastating masterwork of one woman's downward spiral and a dry, humanist deconstruction of acceptable social politics. It manages to be both an incisive commentary on sexual politics, and one of the great heterosexual love stories of modern American film, independent or otherwise. The story follows a woman (Gena Rowlands) whose unusual behavior leads to conflict with her blue-collar husband and family. For women, the first episode is typically depressive; for men, manic.