Another Woman (1988)

Facing a mid-life crisis, a woman rents an apartment next to a psychiatrist's office to write a new book, only to become drawn to the plight of a pregnant woman seeking that doctor's help.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gena Rowlands	...	Marion
Mia Farrow	...	Hope
Ian Holm	...	Ken
Blythe Danner	...	Lydia
Gene Hackman	...	Larry
Betty Buckley	...	Kathy
Martha Plimpton	...	Laura
John Houseman	...	Marion's Father
Sandy Dennis	...	Claire
David Ogden Stiers	...	Young Marion's Father
Philip Bosco	...	Sam
Harris Yulin	...	Paul
Frances Conroy	...	Lynn
Fred Melamed	...	Patient's Voice / Engagement Party Guest
Kenneth Welsh	...	Donald

Storyline

Having recently turned fifty, Marion feels that she has led a so far blessed life. The well-respected Dean of Philosophy at a women's college, she is currently on sabbatical to write her latest book. Although her first husband Sam died tragically fourteen years ago from a mixture of alcohol and pills, she has recently remarried to Ken, who, married at the time, pursued her, while Ken's writer friend, Larry, also professed his love for her. She has a good relationship with her step-daughter Laura, seemingly better than Laura has with either Ken or Laura's own volatile mother, Kathy. Between her and her brother Paul, Marion always had the attention of their academic father. And she and Ken have a wide circle of friends with who they regularly and willingly socialize. But a series of incidents with these people in her life makes Marion wonder about the decisions that she's made, most specifically whether her cerebral and judgmental nature has been alienating to those around her. One of ...

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | female writer | interior monologue | therapy session | chance meeting | 

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Taglines:

Relationships and the choices we make in life

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Druga žena

Filming Locations:

Alpine, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$75,196, 16 October 1988

Gross USA:

$1,562,749

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,562,749

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Woody Allen and Gene Hackman worked together again in Antz (1998).

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Goofs

In the credits, Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No. 3 is listed. However, it is Gymnopédie No. 1 which is played in the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marion: [voiceover] If someone had asked me when I reached my fifties to assess my life, I would have said that I had achieved a decent measure of fulfillment, both personally and professionally. Beyond that, I would say I don't choose to delve.

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Connections

Referenced in Wild Man Blues (1997)

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Soundtracks

Gymnopédie No 1
(1888)
Music by Erik Satie
Performed by Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Conducted by Louis Auriacombe
Courtesy of EMI Pathé-Marconi/Capitol Records Special Markets

User Reviews

One of Woody's most mature and underrated dramas

There was a certain period in Woody Allen's career when he was trying desperately to imitate Ingmar Bergman's work. It rarely worked, and often turned out disasters like the execrable September. Another Woman is a riff on Bergman's Wild Strawberries: a college professor, played by Gena Rowlands, is past fifty and looking back on and reliving key events in her life as her present life is falling apart. The film is quite stagy at times, just as it was in September, Allen's previous film. He seems to think that adds something, but it really doesn't. One other problem Another Woman has is a couple of very clunky scenes, and a few poor bit performers, which were much bigger problems in September, which was actually the last Allen film that I saw and the one that made me subconsciously avoid him for the past several months. Allen's script here is excellent. He has produced an excellent character study which is probably unsurpassed in all of his other films that I've seen. The lead actors are wonderful here, Rowlands, Ian Holms, Blythe Danner, Sandy Dennis, and Gene Hackman. Allen's use of piano music is beautifully touching. It all adds up to a very touching and sad little film. It might not be Woody's best film, but it ought to be better respected and known. 8/10.