A Dangerous Woman (1993)

Martha Horgan, a naive woman with an intellectual impairment who lives with her aunt Frances in a small town, is known for always telling the truth. She works at a dry cleaner, where her ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Gyllenhaal

Writers:

Mary McGarry Morris (novel), Naomi Foner (screenplay)

Stars:

Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey, Gabriel Byrne

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurie Metcalf	...	Anita
Debra Winger	...	Martha Horgan
John Terry	...	Steve
Barbara Hershey	...	Frances
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Patsy
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Edward (as Jacob Gyllenhaal)
Myles Sheridan	...	Paul
Chloe Webb	...	Birdy
Richard Riehle	...	John
Viveka Davis	...	Mercy
Gabriel Byrne	...	Mackey
Paul Dooley	...	Tupperware Salesman
David Strathairn	...	Getso
Brad Blaisdell	...	Wesley
Warren Munson	...	Gately

Storyline

Martha Horgan, a naive woman with an intellectual impairment who lives with her aunt Frances in a small town, is known for always telling the truth. She works at a dry cleaner, where her compulsive truth-telling leads her to report to the boss that another employee has been stealing from the cash register. The thief, in turn, accuses Martha, and she loses her job. In the mean time, a mysterious stranger named Mackey appears at Martha's residence after learning that Aunt Frances needs her porch repaired. Mackey is hired and becomes intimately involved with Martha... which only leads to tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | unplanned pregnancy | unwilling to lie | asperger's syndrome | stabbed to death | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some graphic sexuality, strong language and a scene of violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uma Mulher Perigosa

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,497,222

Company Credits

Production Co:

Island World, Gramercy Pictures (I), Rollercoaster Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Glenn Close was the original casting decision to play Debra Winger's aunt, while Jeff Bridges and Jason Patric were both considered for the male lead.

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Quotes

Mackey: Sometimes we have to tell lies to get to the truth.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: A Perfect World/We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story/Mrs. Doubtfire/The Nutcracker/A Dangerous Woman (1993)

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Soundtracks

Mi Noche Negra
Written by Victor Waill and Geraldo Jimenez
Performed by 'Victor Waill y su Grupo Pamela'
Courtesy of Quisqueya Publishing

User Reviews

It was not as good as the book but good

It was not as good as the book but at least the ending was more clear in the movie than in the book. Barbra Hershey is a great actress! She did a great job at the role she played, so did Martha (Debra). Although, in the book they described her as a girl with normal intelligence with a mental illness, the movie shows her as mentally challenged. So when I saw the movie, Martha was totally different than how I pictured her when I read the book. The story line was sad but interesting. Its interesting and touching to see how a girl could not lye even to save herself. What they did not mention in the story, which bugged me,was the fact that, Gesto was hurting Martha, which I thought could have made it self-defense. I felt like, if she could tell the truth, why couldn't she admit her was hurting her? Well I guess the whole idea was to create a devastating situation, which they did. Also, I wanted to add, contrary to the book, Martha and Frances seemed to have a strong bong; there was love between the two of them. In the book, Frances and Martha seemed to be together more by obligation. Additionally, I was kind of hoping to see the strong wiled character of Martha in the book rather than the vulnerable innocent girl in the movie. The appearance of the girl was not what I expected either; I pictured a tall thin girl, not a petete thin girl, with a much softer look than I pictured in the book. Well, I guess they have to change some things.