More so than any other filmmaker, John Cassavetes was a keeper of records. The movies he made were the result of direct observations of the human condition. He carefully analyzed the psyches of those around him and transferred his findings to film. He refused to compromise his art by allowing any studios to touch it. He was a truth teller and a pure auteur, and for that, I admire his work greatly.
A Woman Under the Influence is a perfect example of the power of film. Gena Rowlands (Cassavetes’ wife and frequent collaborator) plays Mabel, a housewife with some strange habits and proclivities. Her Husband Nick (Peter Falk) loves her deeply but has some trouble understanding her actions. Early in the film he rather forcefully remarks to one of his construction buddies “Mabel is not crazy, she’s unusual. She’s not crazy, so don’t say she’s crazy.” He’s defensive of her because he’s protective. He’s also a little crazy himself.
Mabel’s episodes increase in frequency and magnitude until a boiling point is reached and decisions are made that are out of her control, but it’s how Cassavetes takes us there that’s most important. A big fan of the long take, Cassavetes invests us wholly in each scene. Almost every encounter is an exercise in patience and will. His character interactions have an ebb and flow of tension and release that can make viewing a challenge, but they are so damn real that it leaves you with the feeling that you’ve seen more than just a movie. The explosions between Mable and Nick are ferocious at times but always peppered with love and true concern.
Nick is brutish and childish. He tends to live in the past—always yelling at people to relax and have a good time, even when the situation clearly calls for the opposite. He’s clueless. Cassavetes’ depiction of the male psyche is better than any in the business. He had a way of getting to the meat of men’s need for acceptance and belonging—to be loved. His men, while in search of this love, remained utterly non-complacent when the very thing they seek is right in front of their faces (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Matthew Weiner of Mad Men fame owes a lot to the work of John Cassavetes). Nick loves Mabel and their children with all his heart—he’s just terrible at it. Mabel loves him right back but also isn’t very good at it. This obvious love makes the extremely tense climactic scenes even more difficult to watch, but no less rewarding—and that you’re right there with them in that claustrophobic house doesn’t help at all.
Gena Rowlands, as Mabel, gives the performance of a lifetime. She is a criminally underrated talent. The level of emotion, confusion, and sympathy she gets out of every moment of Woman is an experience that is few and far between. This is top level acting. Peter Falk’s Nick is nearly as good. The bravado, cluelessness, and tenderness he brings to the screen are at times welcomed, and at others disdainful, but always appropriate. Overall, he’s likable, but his lack of understanding and macho insecurities often pushes him over the edge momentarily. You very well may hate for his outbursts, but even a brute can have redeeming qualities. From time to time anyway.
A Woman Under the Influence nearly floored me with its emotional punch. It’s a long and complicated film, but it’s extremely rewarding. It’s not nice, and it’s not neat, but it has real power and is an example of what film can accomplish on an emotional level. It’s not melodramatic or manipulative, like say, Terms of Endearment (1983), it’s just real. These characters exist somewhere. They talk like this and they act like this. Cassavetes was only interested in truth, and I believe he got it.
United States • 1974 • 147 minutes • Color • 1.85:1 • English • Spine #253
Criterion Special Features Include
- New, high-definition digital restoration, with newly restored uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentary by sound recordist and composer Bo Harwood and camera operator Mike Ferris
- New video conversation between actors Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk
- Audio interview with director John Cassavetes from 1975
- Stills gallery
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Kent Jones and an interview with Cassavetes from 1975 (DVD release)
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.