An Unmarried Woman (1978)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writer:

Paul Mazursky (writer)

Release Date:

26 May 1978 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

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.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Midlife Crisis | Divorce | Empowerment | Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Norway:16 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Sweden:11 | USA:R | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Paul Mazursky]attempting to place an order in a restaurant.

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.
Martin: I'll tell you something Erica - the longer I'm married to you the more you sound like my mother.
Erica: Clean your own sneaker.
[throws shoe at Martin]
Martin: I think you wanted me to step in it.
Erica: [laughing] You're going crazy Martin.
Martin: I am?
Erica: [laughing] Yes.
[Martin tosses his shoe over his shoulder into the river. Erica jogs away, and Martin jogs after]

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

I'm Yours

Watershed moment in the history of 'women's films'

Moving tale of a middle-class Manhattan housewife's struggle for independence after her husband leaves her for another woman.

The wonderful Paul Mazursky created this 1978 landmark slaute to women's liberation and the film wipes the floor with the messy urban horror of 1977's Looking for Mr. Goodbar: Goodbar's makers ultimately had no respect for their female protagonist but Mazursky scores in his depiction of female self-respect and love.

Jill Clayburg's miraculous performance as Erica was snubbed at the Academy Awards in favor of Jane Fonda's more 'tolerable' female in Coming Home but if you look closely you'll see there's no comparison and Clayburg hits all the right notes while displaying Erica's overwhelmingly complex feelings. Perhaps Erica's unique strength was too much for many male Academy members so they rewarded the typical moony-eyed housewife character instead. Regardless of that, Clayburg makes a brilliant lead and her lonely journey through New York-chic (art exhibits, bars, therapists, narcisstic artists) makes for great viewing. (The very brief encounters Erica has with a handsome blonde man at the coatcheck before and after she's been hit with the news from her husband are a nice touch!) There's a rare level of intimacy between the actors in all of the scenes but especially the girl group talks: the words sound surprisingly like they belong to the actors and Mazursky's ear for dialogue is sharp and refreshingly to-the-point.

Michael Murphy as the wayward husband, Alan Bates as the new love interest, and Cliff Gorman -whom I last saw as the bitchy, effeminate in The Boys in the Band!- as a male chauvinist provide exceptional support as the men in Erica's life. The only thing that marres the beauty of this film is its awful, piercingly shrill, '70's saxophone musical score.