
Peter Falk is a blue collar man trying to deal with his wife's mental instability. He fights to keep a semblance of normality in the face of her bizarre behavior, but when her actions affect their children, he has her committed.... (Full plot summary below)
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Peter Falk is a blue collar man trying to deal with his wife's mental instability. He fights to keep a semblance of normality in the face of her bizarre behavior, but when her actions affect their children, he has her committed.
Leave your thoughts about A Woman Under the Influence.
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA Woman Under the Influence gives us a woman whose influences only gradually reveal themselves. And as they do, they give us insights not only into one specific, brilliantly created, woman but into some of the problems of surviving in a society where very few people are fully liberated. |
| USA TodayMike ClarkThat sort of depth is rare in most movies; it's the trademark, however, of John Cassavetes. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrCassavetes makes the viewer's frustration work as part of the film's expressiveness; it has an emotional rhythm unlike anything else I've ever seen. |
| Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyRowlands gives a harrowing performance as a housewife coming unhinged. |
| The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsFalk and Rowlands—in performances of almost indescribable intensity—detail a marriage anchored by love, but tossed by the expectations of others and the unpredictable swell of madness. |
| The TelegraphTim RobeyOne of the rawest, toughest, most emotionally scalding portraits of a marriage ever put on screen. |
| Scene-Stealers.comEric MelinDespite the fact that there's a lot of technique on display here, the film still described as cinéma vérité, which I suppose is a testament to how raw and emotional it all feels. |
| Village VoiceTim GriersonFalk and the rest of the cast are exceptional—even the smallest roles feel spot-on—but Rowlands (who will be on hand for the opening-night screening) is the film. |
| EmpireWilliam ThomasAs with most Cassavetes' it is Rowlands who steals this show, this time expertly playing the happy housewife slowly going off the rails while Falk plays the part of her bewildered husband. At two-and-a-half hours, it could easily have dragged but with such strong performances, you're left wanting more. |
| Creative LoafingMatt BrunsonMagnifies in squirmy detail the efforts of a couple to cope with her -- or should that be their? -- mental meltdown. |