A Woman Under the Influence – 1974
Director
John Cassavetes

Writer
John Cassavetes

Producer
Sam Shaw

Cast
Peter Falk – Nick Longhetti
Gena Rowlands – Mabel Longhetti
Fred Draper – George Mortensen
Lady Rowlands – Martha Mortensen
Katherine Cassavetes – Margaret Longhetti
Matthew Laborteaux – Angelo Longhetti
Matthew Cassel – Tony Longhetti
Christina Grisanti – Maria Longhetti
O.G. Dunn – Garson Cross
Mario Gallo – Harold Jensen
Eddie Shaw – Dr. Zepp

Review by Jack Gatanella

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Very good, if not totally great, look at the nature of a husband and wife- Falk and Rowlands are spellbinding,

While John Cassavetes is (rightly) revered for this seventies film and others under his belt (of those I’ve seen, Faces is his best), Gena Rowlands is the most fascinating part to this work, Woman Under the Influence. Her role as Mabel was perfect in a film that sometimes was not even as it just tried for suburban truth. I was constantly curious about where her character was headed, and even more so by how I did not feel any desire at all to pass judgment on her. The moment I would have thought to myself “well, she’s too nuts to like” the film would be ruined for me.

And that is one of the more intelligent points to the film that Cassavetes gets at. This is, after all, a character-based film, with story merely in the background. And with his two main characters we get a look at what has been a stereotype for centuries- men are often brutal and stupid, women are crazy. In this filmmakers world, it’s just not that black and white, however.

I liked the use of the camera in many scenes, how it felt like they just shot and shot and went from one spot in the house to the next. In fact, the whole film has the feel of a kind of documentary, with the occasional dramatic touch such as a close-up. But what turns it into being something special is that Cassavetes understands that Falk, Rowlands and the others can take his script and make it their own. And as it happens, Falk finds some of his most daring work here as Nick, a character who in his own way has become as nuts as Mabel with the everyday grind of living (which for both of them is filled with people, talk, pure humanity).

For those who don’t like the easy solutions in dramas, or want to know the basics of the post-modern independent film movement, this is for you. Only debilitating flaw is that is does drag a bit in spots.

Grade: A