A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes (written by)

Release Date:

18 November 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Mabel, a wife and mother, is loved by her husband Nick but her madness proves to be a problem in the marriage. The film transpires to a positive role of madness in the family, challenging conventional representations of madness in cinema.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Fight | Whistling | Falling Over A Cliff | Husband Wife Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Nick Longhetti
Gena Rowlands	...	Mabel Longhetti
Fred Draper	...	George Mortensen
Lady Rowlands	...	Martha Mortensen
Katherine Cassavetes	...	Margaret Longhetti
Matthew Labyorteaux	...	Angelo Longhetti
Matthew Cassel	...	Tony Longhetti
Christina Grisanti	...	Maria Longhetti
O.G. Dunn	...	Garson Cross
Mario Gallo	...	Harold Jensen
Eddie Shaw	...	Dr. Zepp
Angelo Grisanti	...	Vito Grimaldi
Charles Horvath	...	Eddie
James Joyce	...	Bowman
John Finnegan	...	Clancy
Vincent Barbi	...	Gino (as Vince Barbi)
Cliff Carnell	...	Aldo
Frank Richards	...	Adolph
Hugh Hurd	...	Willie Johnson
Leon Wagner	...	Billy Tidrow
Dominique Davalos	...	Dominique Jensen
Xan Cassavetes	...	Adrienne Jensen
Pancho Meisenheimer	...	John Jensen
Sonny Aprile	...	Aldo
Ellen Davalos	...	Nancy
Joanne Moore Jordan	...	Muriel
John Hawker	...	Joseph Morton
Sylvester Words	...	James Turner (as Sil Words)
Elizabeth Deering	...	Angela
Jackie Peters	...	Tina
Elsie Ames	...	Principal
N.J. Cassavetes	...	Adolph

Directed by
John Cassavetes

Writing credits
John Cassavetes		(written by)

Produced by
Sam Shaw	....	producer

Original Music by
Bo Harwood

Cinematography by
Mitch Breit		(uncredited)
Al Ruban		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
David Armstrong
Sheila Viseltear

Art Direction by
Phedon Papamichael

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Corrick	....	first assistant director
Roger Slager	....	second assistant director
Gary Graver	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Steve Hitter	....	graphics
Kevin Joyce	....	props

Sound Department
Michael Denecke	....	sound mixer (as Henry Michael Denecke)
Nick Spaulding	....	boom operator (as Nick Spalding)
Bo Harwood	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mitch Breit	....	in charge of lighting (as Mitchell Breit)
Cliff Carnell	....	key grip
Merv Dayan	....	lighting technician
Caleb Deschanel	....	additional photographer
Frederick Elmes	....	assistant camera (as Fred Elmes)
Michael Ferris	....	camera operator (as Mike Ferris)
Gary Graver	....	additional camera operator
David V. Lester	....	gaffer (as David Lester)
David B. Nowell	....	camera operator (as David Nowell)
Leslie Otis	....	assistant camera
Anthony R. Palmieri	....	assistant camera (as Tony Palmieri)
Larry Silver	....	assistant camera
Bo Taylor	....	lighting technician
Chris Taylor	....	lighting technician
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer: special assignment (uncredited)
R. Michael Stringer	....	additional photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carole K. Smith	....	wardrobe (as Carole Smith)

Editorial Department
Tom Cornwell	....	supervising editor
Robert Heffernan	....	executive in charge of post-production

Other crew
Elaine Goren	....	continuity
Carole K. Smith	....	production secretary (as Carole Smith)

Production Companies

• Faces

Distributors

• Faces International (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1976) (France) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS) (For Touchstone Home Video)
• Starz / Anchor Bay (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Touchstone Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• American Film Institute (AFI)  thanks

Also Known As:

Runtime:

155 min | USA:146 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Brazil:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1992) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

1741 N. Taft Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Faces

Trivia:

To help fund the film, John Cassavetes remortgaged his home. Peter Falk also chipped in with some of his earnings from "Columbo" (1971).

Goofs:

Continuity: After returning home from the beach, it is still afternoon. Then the kids get in bed and Ricky says "good night, see you in the morning" although he is trying to get them to eat something.

Quotes:

Mabel Longhetti:All of a sudden, I miss everyone...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edge of Outside (2006)

Cassavetes's absorbing look at the nature of marriage; Falk and Rowlands are spellbinding

While John Cassavetes is (rightly) revered for this film and other under his belt, wife/key-star Gena Rowlands is the most fascinating and emotionally gripping 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, but with the grays as pronounced as the highs and lows in a melodrama; it's just the way he sees things, and it's a unique way as well, where the soul and choice are the precedents over comfy dramatic circumstance.

I loved 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, uncertain but knowing how to observe and look. In fact, the whole film has the feel of a 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, very personally so. 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. It might seem to drag in spots, but it seems to be even more enveloping if one gives it the time to contemplate over those 'drag' moments.