A Dangerous Woman

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A Dangerous Woman

R

1993

1h 41m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

31%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Martha Horgan (Debra Winger) is a withdrawn, mentally disabled woman who lives with her aunt, Frances (Barbara Hershey). One of Martha's unusual traits is that she doesn't lie, a quality that leads to her getting fired from a dry-cleaning shop thanks to the actions of the shifty Getso (David Strathairn). Conflict seems to follow Martha, since she also becomes romantically involved with local fix-it man, Mackey (Gabriel Byrne), who is sleeping with Frances as well.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Gyllenhaal's film, like Paris Trout and Waterland before it, is better illuminating minor detail than providing us with a convincing general structure.

Feb 29, 2024

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The movies are so seldom perfect that it's enough to find something perfect in them. What's nearly perfect in A Dangerous Woman is the Debra Winger performance.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Quentin Falk

Sunday Mirror (UK)

Not even a high-voltage cast including Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey and Gabriel Byrne can save A Dangerous Woman, an extremely muddled melodrama.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 29, 2024

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Debra Winger turns in a performance that deserves a place among the great acting work in recent movie history. If only anyone had seen it.

Rated: A

Aug 31, 2022

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Steve Persall

Tampa Bay Times

An overstuffed potboiler that strains for an upbeat ending after 95 minutes of angst.

Rated: C

Mar 30, 2020

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Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

While Winger's acting is painfully accurate, utterly unglamorous and unnerving in its otherness, this adaptation of Mary McGarry Morris looks unlikely to gain a place in the Oscar sweepstakes...A Dangerous Woman proves difficult to watch at times.

May 14, 2018

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Audience Member

A dangerous woman can be created under the wrong circumstances Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey, Gabriel Byrne, and Laurie Metcalf, David Strathairn, and a very young Maggie Gyllenhaal Director Steven Gyllenhaal presents a story of a woman who feels isolated because she's not built like everyone else Winger plays Martha whom is mentally disabled being very withdrawn, it puts her at a disadvantage and she becomes the subject of tease and ridicule She has a natural ability to never lie and only tell the truth She ends up getting fired from her job after witnessing a man Getso steal money from the register and he places the blame on her Martha's aunt Frances stays and takes care of her Frances is actually having an affair with a married man while Martha falls in love with a fix-it guy named Mackey Can Martha defend herself and attempt to live a normal life? Debra Winger gives a very believable performance as a woman who's trying to make her way in the world and Hershey and Byrne are terrific too Being different can be dangerous, the world is fast when you're slow, rough when you're gentle, deceitful when you're honest, sometimes we have to tell lies to get to the truth A decent character piece for sure

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/07/23

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Audience Member

A Dangerous Woman is so bad, giving it a half star is an insult to most prior movies I gave half a star to.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

Winger's performance is so exaggerated and over the top. I can't believe she received an Emmy nomination for this. NEXT

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Come for the cast and menacing title hinting at violence, stay for the-... why did I stay? The preformances were hilariously bad and the film looked utterly cheap. I guess it was the promise of that title and opening sequence that intrigued me, but the rest of the film is sure to dissapoint. At least some of the actors remain charming even when bad. 4/10.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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steve d

Winger is really good but there not much else to recommend it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

This movie is strange.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Stephen Gyllenhaal

Director

Debra Winger

Martha Horgan

Barbara Hershey

Frances Beechum

Gabriel Byrne

Mackey

David Strathairn

Getso

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Synopsis

Martha Horgan (Debra Winger) is a withdrawn, mentally disabled woman who lives with her aunt, Frances (Barbara Hershey). One of Martha's unusual traits is that she doesn't lie, a quality that leads to her getting fired from a dry-cleaning shop thanks to the actions of the shifty Getso (David Strathairn). Conflict seems to follow Martha, since she also becomes romantically involved with local fix-it man, Mackey (Gabriel Byrne), who is sleeping with Frances as well.

Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Producer: Naomi Foner
Screenwriter: Naomi Foner
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 10, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

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