An Unmarried Woman (1978)

A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writer:

Paul Mazursky

Stars:

Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jill Clayburgh	...	Erica
Alan Bates	...	Saul
Michael Murphy	...	Martin
Cliff Gorman	...	Charlie
Patricia Quinn	...	Sue (as Pat Quinn)
Kelly Bishop	...	Elaine
Lisa Lucas	...	Patti
Linda Miller	...	Jeannette
Andrew Duncan	...	Bob
Daniel Seltzer	...	Dr. Jacobs
Matthew Arkin	...	Phil
Penelope Russianoff	...	Tanya
Novella Nelson	...	Jean
Raymond J. Barry	...	Edward
Ivan Karp	...	Herb Rowan

Storyline

Erica is unmarried only temporarily in that her successful, wealthy husband of seventeen years has just left her for a girl he met while buying a shirt in Bloomingdale's. The film shows Erica coming to terms with the break-up while revising her opinions of herself, redefining that self in its own right rather than as an extension of somebody else's personality, and finally going out with another man. Erica refuses to drop everything for Saul, an abstract expressionist painter, simply out of love for him because he expects her to. It is not so much loneliness that is her problem, and the problems that men, flitting around this newly "available" woman like moths round a flame, bring to her sense of independence.

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Plot Keywords:

painter | blind date | reflection | throwing a shoe | lover | 

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Taglines:

She laughs, she cries, she feels angry, she feels lonely, she feels guilty, she makes breakfast, she makes love, she makes do, she is strong, she is weak, she is brave, she is scared, she is... an unmarried woman.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1978 (France)

Also Known As:

Una mujer descasada

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "hen" sessions between Erica (Jill Clayburgh) and her 'divorced' friends were once described as being "part Ingmar Bergman, part Mary Hartman".

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Goofs

Erica tells Martin they've had sex around 2000 times (twice a week for 16yrs). Before having sex with Charlie, she tells him that she's only slept with 1 man in the past 17 years.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Martin and Erica are jogging along the river]
Martin: Jesus Christ! Look at this - my sneaker's ruined!
Erica: They're only thirty-five dollars.
[Erica takes Martin's shoe and cleans it off for him]
Martin: Fucking city's turning into one big pile of DOG SHIT!
[shouting at passing traffic]
Martin: Come on out and take a crap on me - everybody else is. Fuck.
[Martin lights a cigarette]
Erica: ...been jogging for 2 1/2 miles - you're giving yourself lung cancer.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

For Betsy

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Connections

Referenced in The King of Comedy (1982)

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Soundtracks

"You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"
(1976) (uncredited)
Written by Leo Sayer and Vini Poncia
Performed by Leo Sayer

User Reviews

A great, entertaining and endearing film

An Unmarried Woman was one of the best films from the late 70s/early 80s. It so completely captures a time and a place. It is a personal, perceptive story of a woman's marriage which crumbles to her total surprise. It ends up being a sort of comic--Americanized version (or more specifically New York version) of

"Scenes from a Marriage". Throughout the film we are introduced to one terrific personality after another--each distinctively drawn. From her affluent circle of friends, to the quirky, genuinely intriguing artistic types of the downtown art scene (Soho before it became SO commercial), to the assorted people she

meets on her journey of coping and understanding such as her therapist

(portrayed by the great psychologist and author, Penelope Russianoff, who was a fixture on New York's Upper Westside for years), we are treated to a wealth of fascinating characters. The movie resonates with warmth and understanding.

Jill Clayburgh's Erika is a contemporary tragic/comic heroine. She's beautiful and classy and funny and her emotions--for anyone who has gone through

divorce or separation or simply difficult marital situations--are absolutely dead- on accurate. What is very interesting some 25 years after the movie debuted is that it has not aged one single bit--the characters remain delightful, the

emotions as real as ever, and the New York milieu as varied and fascinating as it still is today (and probably always has been.) A great, entertaining, and endearing film!