A Woman Under the Influence

R

Now Playing

2h 35m

Drama

List

89%

35 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands), desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick (Peter Falk). Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

Read More

Read Less

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

In Theaters

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Max

Watch A Woman Under the Influence with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Electrified by searing performances from Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, A Woman Under the Influence finds pioneering independent filmmaker John Cassavetes working at his artistic peak.

Read Critics Reviews

Alec B

A punishing viewing experience but that's why it has always lingered in the background of the cultural discourse for so long. Well that and the unflinching performances.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

Full Review

Dani G

Easily, they could have cut about 45 minutes of film, and maybe I would have considered it near worth of the status it has. Some very long scenes that didn't told anything. At least anything interesting. A good, serious theme that could have been treated in a very much better way.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/26/23

Full Review

Dani G

Easily, they could have cut about 45 minutes of film, and maybe I would have considered it near worth of the status it has. Some very long scenes that didn't told anything. At least anything interesting. A good, serious theme that could have been treated in a very much better way.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/26/23

Full Review

Irena

Marvelous acting and the intense plot make this a movie to remember forever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

John E

As the film begins, the tone is quickly established through a score that employs numerous dissonant chords, cementing the theme of disconnection that runs throughout A Woman Under the Influence (1974). Not in quite some time have I been so impressed by, and cognizant of, a film's score. Composer Bo Harwood cradles the entire film using only a piano and an acoustic guitar (throwing in a youthful kazoo during the closing scene). The only orchestral dynamic is when Italian opera is injected as music being listened to by the characters. The actual score is underdone and naked, which makes it perfect as a thin blanket upon which the story can rest. This film made my 2023 must-see list because of the highly heralded and Oscar nominated performance of Gena Rowlands. She plays Mable Longhetti, a Los Angeles housewife and mother, married to Nick (Peter Falk), a construction foreman who is absent from the home for long periods of time. Mable is a woman who doesn't conform to the social norms of a woman her age and of the era. She experiences many of her daily moments from a childlike innocence, while also being a mature woman who's in need of attention and will seek that attention through unconventional means. Rowland imbues Mable with physical tics and vocal patterns that are superbly conveyed and amazing to behold. The story was written by Rowland's husband, John Cassovetes, who also directed the film. The story was originally written to be a play, but Rowland wasn't sure she could portray Mable eight times a week, so it was rewritten to be film. This movie is much more character driven than plot driven. We are given a look inside Mable and Nick's relationship, how it started, how it survives, and how it is challenged. What we aren't given are clear answers to complex questions. We know Nick and Mable love each other, but is their relationship a healthy one? Mable's adoration of her children is evident, but is she a fit mother? Mable clearly has some level of mental imbalance, but to what degree does her husband and family exacerbate or abate that imbalance through their "help"? What is the ultimate influence that the woman is actually under? The answers will depend on the viewer… and that is just one of many, many things that make this movie a superb one. And what of all those accolades for Rowland's performance? That's one question that certainly has a clear answer. She was worthy of them all. And I would be remiss not to mention how great Peter Falk was as well. His portrayal was subtly impressive and never overshadowed by Rowland's, which was a tough feat. In fact, Falk was so dedicated to having this film produced, that he put up $500,000.00 of his own money to help fund it when major studios repeatedly turned Cassovetes down. In the end, this film became an independent gem. A gem worthy of being gazed upon and admired for its brilliance.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Gena Rowlands is amazing. Hard watch but me every time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

John Cassavetes

Director

Gena Rowlands

Mabel Longhetti

Peter Falk

Nick Longhetti

Katherine Cassavetes

Mama Longhetti

Lady Rowlands

Martha Mortensen

Fred Draper

George Mortensen

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

88%

81%

Harry and Tonto

63%

65%

Breezy

85%

87%

Faces

9%

23%

Ash Wednesday

86%

74%

Save the Tiger

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Classic Film Catch-Up: Hollywood’s Most Unnerving Descents Into Madness

Lena Headey’s Five Favorite Films

Bo Burnham’s Five Favorite Films

View more photos

Pauline Kael

New Yorker

Cassavetes has gone so far over to the most literal-minded Laing position that the society he shows us is implausible -- a society of boorish people with such limited awareness that they're barely human.

Sep 27, 2023

Full Review

Adam Kempenaar

Filmspotting

'Be yourself,' Nick implores Mabel. But how do you be yourself if you have no longer have a self?

Rated: 4.5/5

Mar 2, 2019

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Cassavetes makes the viewer's frustration work as part of the film's expressiveness; it has an emotional rhythm unlike anything else I've ever seen.

Feb 7, 2019

Full Review

Jack Kapica

Montreal Gazette

Not a scene is wasted in 2 hours and 30 minutes of drama, and it is pure joy to watch such accomplished actors work with all the time they need for fully fleshed performances.

Oct 11, 2023

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Regarded by some as John Cassavetes’ masterpiece, it’s also not a bad place for Cassavetes newcomers to start.

Rated: A

Nov 29, 2022

Full Review

Wael Khairy

The Cinephile Fix

John Cassavetes’ most revered film, “A Woman Under the Influence”, is one of cinema’s exemplary works of realism.

Oct 14, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands), desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick (Peter Falk). Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

Director: John Cassavetes
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Faces
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 1974, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2011
Runtime: 2h 35m

Most Popular at Home Now