Another Woman (1988) User Reviews (92)

This film blew me away

[andrew7 · 8/10 · 19 February 2002]

I just watched this last night, and I've been thinking about it all day. What an amazing film! So poignant, so subtle. A woman re-evaluates her life and begins to lament the choices she made years ago. Such a simple premise, such immense possibilities.

This film demands a lot of its audience. There is no humor, no action, and very little plot. Most people won't be into this at all, I imagine, which is a shame. This film offers a really wonderful perspective on a subject that is so very rarely addressed in films today: aging. This film is about a woman taking stock of her life at the age of fifty. She looks back, she sees the choices she made and how they turned out. She sees the compromises she made to get where she is today (very successful, head of a philosophy department, about to write another book), and she begins to appreciate, for the first time, what those compromises cost.

This is, in my opinion, the central tragedy of human existence. You only get one shot at life, and no one ever tells you how to manage it. So, you make mistakes, and one day, when you're fifty, you've finally learned enough to start making the right choices. But, by that time, is it too late? This film doesn't answer that question, at least not for its central character. But it does offer hope.

The film is propelled by several dynamite performances. But, even in such a crowded field of great performances, it is not difficult to pick out Gena Rowlands, who gives an unforgettably nuanced performance as Marion, the film's central character.

You may notice that this film is propelled by a number of coincidences. Every chance encounter, however, has an eerie relevance to Marion's soul-searching. It may look contrived, but it isn't. These aren't coincidences at all. The pregnant woman, played by Mia Farrow, is instrumental in setting up each of these 'coincidences', and that character's name is Hope. I was half-expecting a "Fight Club" revelation at the end, but it never came, which is good. This film could stand both ways, and it's better for the director to leave the audience to consider the relationship between Hope and Marion on their own. Like I said, I've been thinking about it all day.

Another great Woody Allen drama

[Greensleeves · 8/10 · 4 October 2003]

This is a wonderful movie but not an easy one. It mixes the present with the past and dreams with real life. You will need to see it three or four times at least to get the best out of it but it's well worth doing. Every performance is spot on, every scene has a purpose, there is no padding here. It comes as a shock to Gena Rowlands character that she is not what she thought she was, that people do not view her in the way she thought they did.She takes a journey through her life to see what went wrong with the unwitting aid of a psychiatrist and patient in the apartment next door. The film ends abruptly without a proper resolution just as life can and does. The final line of Gena Rowlands beautiful narration will haunt you. A masterpiece of writing and direction to say nothing of superb acting and masterful cinematography.

Another Woody

[Mort-31 · 8/10 · 8 February 2001]

The melancholic mood and Gena Rowland's impressing acting are the most important elements of this movie. It's the Ingmar-Bergman type of film, like „Interiors`, much more serious and thoughtful than all of Woody Allen's other movies, not at all typical for him. In my opinion, it's even more vivid than „Interiors` because there are less people involved and – something that happens less and less in Woody Allen's movies – there is only one main character. This time, it's the character herself who tells the story which is really unusual for Allen.

By leaving every other trade mark in plot and topics away, Allen concentrates on the intellectual dialogues and the analyses people make about each other. It's characteristic that Marion Post is a professor for philosophy. She automatically analyzes everybody around her, which leads to the fact that they start analyzing her. Her crisis begins, when she learns that people talk about her – which, of course, is something completely natural – and therefore starts analyzing herself. Her character really impressed me because I know people myself who are exactly like Marion Post. Woody Allen is a brilliant psychologist who watches people precisely and that's why he is able to create such believable characters.

A FILM OF GREAT POWER AND FEELING

[KatMiss · 6 July 2002]

Woody Allen's "Another Woman" is, upon rediscovery, a film of great power and feeling. Sadly, not many people will be open to rediscovery after the initial viewing.

Gena Rowlands stars as Marion Post, a 50ish philosophy professor whose life is in order. She rents an apartment to work on her latest book. By accident, she discovers that through the heating duct, she can hear all conversations from the psychiatrist located in said building. At first, she covers the duct with cushions to block the sound, but she decides to listen in after hearing, by accident, the testimony of a young pregnant woman. This sets in motion a chain of events that changes Marion forever.

Woody has said that he originally conceived the idea as a comedy and indeed, it could be played that way (on a smaller scale in "Everyone Says I Love You"). But here, Allen resists the temptation to play it for laughs. In fact, there is not one single moment of comedy relief in his film. I think that is a wise decision. I was so absorbed by Marion's journey that comedy would have broken the mood of the film. This film is another venture into Bergmanesque cinema and "Another Woman" can compare with the very best Bergman.

Gena Rowlands hasn't had a role this good since the films of her late husband John Cassavetes. This in fact, shows another side of Rowlands; a more restrained, mannered character than the fiery, passionate characters in the Cassavetes films. It just shows the different types of roles Rowlands can play so well. She deserved an Oscar nomination for this.

In fact, the whole film is well cast by Allen. Gene Hackman is great in a mellow part as Marion's ex-lover. Blythe Danner makes a return to form as Marion's best friend. It is great to see Danner do what she does best, especially following the horrible "Brighton Beach Memoirs" in which she was underused. Ian Holm is superb as Marion's husband, who as Roger Ebert puts it "must have a wife so he can cheat on her". In his final film, John Houseman allows himself to appear weak and frail; quite a change from the pillar of strength in "The Paper Chase" and a good cap to a great career.

I mentioned at the beginning that not many people will be open to rediscovering "Another Woman". I think that is correct. Here are my reasons why. First, the film is deliberately paced, even with a short running time of 81 minutes. Most viewers' attention spans won't be able to tolerate the long takes Allen is famous for. Second, the film doesn't offer any instant gratification or closure. Allen's story is one of those stories that just can't have a typical happy Hollywood ending. Third, there is T&A, even though adultery plays a large part in the story. So if you're looking for a fast paced film with T$A and guns and action and a happy ending, you might as well move on.

"Another Woman" is one of those films in which rediscovery is necessary. Allen packs so much into 81 minutes that multiple viewings are necessary to absorb it all. If you make the effort to see it again, you might find that "Another Woman" is a film of great power and feeling that works better every time you see it.

**** out of 4 stars

Brief Woody Allen treatise about choices, chances, regret and hope...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 7 August 2006]

Sedate and as fleeting as a paperback novel (despite its penchant for high-toned literacy), Woody Allen's "Another Woman" is a seemingly deeply-felt sonata about a 50-ish female writer in New York City who comes to the realization her current state of upscale well-being is a sham. Allen excels in sequences of chatty couples interacting, with the dynamics of two sparking something unintended; he also loves delving into the romantic complications between teacher and student, usually with infidelity a key ingredient, and all of those aspects work their way into this story, which has a moral, grounded center despite the cheating adults (even a younger teen gets a guilty moment, having sex in a forbidden place, but of course she feels cheap afterward!). Allen loves a contradiction as well as any writer, but his main character (played stunningly by Gena Rowlands, who also narrates) is living in the subconscious, and is forced into continually being enlightened. This is handled quite well (with dreamy interludes and flashbacks to childhood), but this narrative actually should be more compelling; instead, it's gossamer drama, with Bergman or Chekov overtures. A last-act fling between Rowlands' husband and a friend is disappointing, with Woody falling back on the cliché (couldn't Rowlands leave her sexless marriage on the basis of boredom alone?). As a director, Woody is very careful and strict with his actors, and Gene Hackman as a novelist surprises the most (his harsh attempt at seducing Rowlands is straightforward and yet almost neurotic--and you can see the anguish and passion on his face); Martha Plimpton continues to be far too eager, but Rowlands, Ian Holm, Betty Buckley, Frances Conroy, and Sandy Dennis have some incredible moments. As the "other woman", whose life parallels Gena's, Mia Farrow has very little on-screen time but her plaintive voice and sensitive face are just right for this brief role. A fine drama about choices and regrets; I'm not sure just how deeply a man like Woody Allen can empathize with a lady in her 50s trying to stay afloat in a loveless life, but there are several scenes here that really dig below the placid surface. *** from ****

Returning to Bergmanesque Roots

[canadude · 10/10 · 8 July 2004]

It's worth noting that in 1978, ten years before he made "Another Woman," Woody Allen created another quiet film, a drama with prominent Bergmanesque influences. The film was called "Interiors," and it was a tribute, or an American take on Bergman's "Cries and Whispers." "Interiors" examined the relationships of three sisters and their husbands in the face of the divorce of their dominant mother and detached father. The film essentially detailed the fall of "interiors," or illusory worlds created by the dominant mother in the face of tragedy and loneliness.

"Another Woman," made ten years later, shares similar themes with "Interiors," but it is more akin to Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" than to "Cries and Whispers." It is a story of a university professor, played spectacularly by Gena Rowlands, in whom something stirs when she overhears a therapy session with a young 30-something woman who is discontent with her life. The professor, Marion, feels an emptiness rise inside her - an emptiness that had settled there years before, that she can consciously feel now. Little by little, like in "Interiors," the world she has constructed for herself, a cold, cerebral world, deconstructs.

Marion despairs, enters into conflicts with herself, and questions endlessly trying to reason her way out of her malaise. But the cure for her malaise is not rational resolution and she, realizing that her strongest characteristic (namely her rational intelligence) is not enough to untangle what worries her, finds herself entirely helpless in the face of an unraveling existence.

Her drama is very much like the drama of Professor Isak Borg from Bergman's film, a man on his way to receive a medal for his lifetime achievements. And, on the road, he also succumbs to the same malaise as Marion, the same questioning and the same painful re-evaluation. The horror shared by both Marion and Professor Borg, of course, is that despite their highly lauded accomplishments and their intellectual self-satisfaction, they feel void. There must, in other words, be something else to life than strictly intellectual work, however satisfying it may be.

In Bergman (both "Cries and Whispers" and "Wild Strawberries") and in Allen (both "Interiors" and "Another Woman") life falls under question. The entire existence is evaluated, its worth and meaning doubted. In "Interiors" and "Cries and Whispers," however, the meaninglessness pervades everything in the films - the dialogues, behaviors and even visuals. The sisters in "Interiors" shatter the mother's reality and find nothingness - they continue as they were, much like the two sisters in "Cries and Whispers" for whom the death of their young sister changed absolutely nothing, and only confirmed their beliefs about the world.

However, "Another Woman" is not as stark (though it is stark indeed at times). Marion grabs at the chance to re-evaluate the life she feels she painfully wasted and tries to start again. It's not a false choice, or a gimmick on Allen's part, but it's a true depiction of Marion's sincere desire to continue to struggle because her life does have value for her. She rediscovers a passion for the struggle and her motivation is the same curiosity that made her go through the questioning process in the first place.

"Another Woman" is a testament to the fact that Woody Allen was still at the top of his game in the late 1980s. It is a brilliant, honest and (surprisingly) warm film. It is not a remake or rip-off of Bergman's work, though it is highly influenced by him (which shouldn't seem so surprising to anyone, because Bergman himself was influenced by the most basic questions of existence). "Another Woman" is an existential film that is both uncompromising and not hopeless. It's one of my favorite Woody Allen films and it reveals to us not only a great American director, but one whose films are of worldly greatness.

Above average

[Analog_Devotee · 6/10 · 11 January 2021]

This is by no means a bad film -- in many areas it's excellent... unfortunately, it's a little mundane and meandering in others. Still, I recommend it for slice-of-life fans. There are many scenes in this picture which will make you think back to some of the choices you've made, and it will certainly stick with you over time.

One of Woody's most mature and underrated dramas

[zetes · 8/10 · 5 December 2001]

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.

An early glimpse into the canker in the rose of Woody Allen's privileged, insular universe

[bmacv · 6/10 · 23 January 2004]

More like a painter than a movie director, Woody Allen can be broken down into distinct `periods.' He broke wholly (if temporarily) from comedy in 1978 with the Bergmanesque Interiors, a departure which failed to net him expected acclaim. In 1987, with September, he returned to somber, introspective drama unencumbered with mirth, and followed it up the next year with Another Woman. Whatever else can be said about these three works, they show more integrity and hold more interest than the soured, indifferent movies he began to issue in the late ‘90s. But, even earlier, the canker was gnawing at the rose.

In Another Woman, Gena Rowlands plays an academic on sabbatical trying to write a book. Money seems no problem to her, as to most of the characters in Allen's universe (when construction noises outside her huge, pre-war uptown apartment disturb her concentration, she just leases a smaller one downtown, in the high-rent Manhattan of the late-Reagan boom years). But faulty ventilation enables her to eavesdrop on the clients of a psychiatrist whose suite lies next door. One of them (Mia Farrow, in a peripheral role) begins to obsess her, but, again as with most of Allen's characters, the obsession is not so much with another human being but with her own reactions, moods and memories; Farrow merely primes the pump.

Rowlands' life is replayed through her own voice-over narrative, flashbacks, and dreams (in which staged theatrical productions are mounted). Her second husband (Ian Holm), another cool cucumber, is carrying on with a mutual friend (Blythe Danner), much as Holm carried on with Rowlands when married to his first wife (Betty Buckley). Rowlands' older first husband, her professor at Bryn Mawr (nobody gains entry to Allen's world without a prestigious sheepskin), may have killed himself, possibly as a late reaction to the abortion she secured against his wishes (he had already arrived when she was just starting out). Her brother (Harris Yulin) never made much of himself – he works in a crummy office on a metal desk – and so is shunned by her and by their crusty, success-conscious father (John Houseman).

Rowlands finally encounters Farrow in a `cluttered and dusty' antique shop that paradoxically dazzles with freshly polished lustre; they go to lunch together, and the younger woman accelerates Rowlands' ordeal of self-assessment. Taking many long walks to clear her head, she runs into people who are none too thrilled to see her or she them (Sandy Dennis, as a former best friend, steals her two brief scenes). The short movie ends, rather abruptly, with Rowlands claiming finally to be at peace after reading a novel by an old flame (Gene Hackman). Completing the self-referential circle, it's one in which she had inspired a character.

Socrates' maxim about an unexamined life not being worth living may be good advice to hoi polloi, but certainly not for those who've made it. Memories start churning, the detritus of past relationships, past mistakes floats up, and Rowlands and her set are flabbergasted – deeply offended – that such unseemly happenings should befall them. They're in such bad taste. It's as though the creative, richly remunerative careers they've contrived to attain, as well as the connoisseur's lifestyle (Klimt, Mahler, the `original French production of La Gioconda') that comes in their wake, justify and negate all the trimming and compromises and self-delusion that went before. It's only the warm and comfortable destination that counts; the arduous journey there is best forgotten.

It's a credo Allen seems in full sympathy with – he's long since stopped celebrating where he came from (as artists generally do) in order to celebrate where he fancies he's risen to (and though his penthouse may be on the East Side, he's still not an old-money WASP – and like John O'Hara, another arriviste snob, he never went to college). And yet more keenly than any other film-maker, Allen remains a merciless satirist of smug intellectuals, destructive solipsists and careerist phonies, although it's not entirely clear he knows it.

excellent performances and script.

[sthomas659 · 10/10 · 30 December 2003]

This is a character study film. There are many "layers" to the story. Allen comments via the character in a subtle way. The film uses surreal and the subconscious to lead the characters to their destination. I like the fact that the ending left the viewer with his or her own ideas about the outcome of the characters. Nothing in this film is "forced on the viewer." Gena Rowlands narrates and is very easy to listen to. This is definitly not a film for the person who would rather watch than think. Rowlands puts in a very fine performance, in my opinion, she is one of the under-rated actress' of her time. The film runs less than 90 minutes. I didn't know what to expect when the film started but was surprised and pleased with this film!

A Minor Work From Allen

[blakiepeterson · 6/10 · 2 May 2015]

In every classroom, there is a genius, and chances are, that genius will be big on brains but low on social skills. You may dislike them greatly for their seemingly thesaurused vocabulary and cool diction, but they would never know it. They're caught up in themselves, more keen to boast their brightness when they should be showing their warmth. Marion Post (Gena Rowlands) is that kind of girl, except she's grown gracefully into middle-age, has been married for years, and has a job as a university administrator that satisfies her intellectual needs. She's content.

Currently, she's writing a novel. Her apartment, however, is distracting, sometimes too noisy when she needs to be alone with her thoughts. She rents a small flat that fits her needs perfectly – or so it seems. After only a few minutes into her preparation, she discovers that a psychiatrist's office is next door, as she can hear every conversation through a noisy air vent in the middle of the living room.

At first, she places pillows over the accidental speaker. But after accidentally overhearing a hysterical patient (Mia Farrow), Marion becomes fascinated. The exchange between the psychiatrist and his patient is interesting to say the least, but Marion finds it precariously relevant in her own life. As she begins eavesdropping on a regular basis, she finds herself reexamining every detail of her existence. It seems that her marriage, friendships, and familial ties are not as ideal as they seem.

Woody Allen tries to plunge into the psychological depths of Bergman with Another Woman, but the film is frequently overwrought in its intellect, pretentious even. Allen has tried drama several times, more often than not with success. 1978's Interiors was stirring in its melancholy catharsis, and future endeavors, such as 2005's Match Point and 2014's Blue Jasmine, explored new territory with the same if not more accomplishment.

Another Woman feels more like an experiment that could have been left as a novel or a short story. At only 81 minutes, it's somewhat abrupt. The ending lets us know that Marion is planning to change her life for the better, but how? Throughout the film, we see her cold shouldering nearly everyone on a regular basis – is she suddenly going to heat up her shoulder and hope for the best?

It's a stupid question I pose, I know, but I think the real problem with the film is how controlled it feels. There is no danger. There is no looseness. It wants to be stark in its atmosphere, and it is, but if it's going to hold back emotional texture, there should be something to fill in for that gaping hole. Another Woman is like an exercise, not a film. It isn't bad in the traditional sense, but in comparison to Allen's other movies, it's a filler, a transition, if you will.

There is plenty for the actors to do: Rowlands, who spent most of the '70s and '80s in her husband's (John Cassavetes) films, ties up her untamed hair and colorful wardrobe for a tight up-do and a bland turtleneck, giving one of her most affecting and impressive performances in the process. Hackman's longing desire is pungent, and Farrow is a force of gloominess in her few scenes. But even though Another Woman is well made and, at times, poignant, it doesn't have enough meat to make it any less than a forgettable exploration for one of cinema's greatest directors.

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 8/10 · 12 May 2005]

Bergmanesque territory for Allen again, this is an intriguing and well directed film in Bergman's style, however unlike in some of Allen's earlier Bergman ventures this one feels like less of a copy and more so just a unique drama. The film is philosophical without the ideas seeming intangible, and some of the points are very interesting, like how the pain of others can cause one to realise one's own, and how fascinating it is to hear someone else's revelations. It is not a minute too long, and the dialogue is great, but if one was to flaw it, Allen's choice of music seems a little off-balance, the narration is a touch cold, and whilst not bad, the performances are generally rather ordinary. But all these problems are very slight, as the overall production is fascinating and thought-provoking stuff about how one reflects on oneself.

Only for Woody Completists

[bagdad-42953 · 6/10 · 12 August 2020]

O yeah. Full Bergman. Dream sequences. Dream sequences in a theater, (Fellini?) Pronouncements upon mortality. Flashbacks that are misunderstood and confuse the viewer. O yeah. I watched this to key in on Gene Hackman and Geena Rowlins. The rest of the cast is fantastic. Literally, hard to believe. It is an actor's (indulgent) fantasy.

If you have any sympathy for neurotic, highly educated, New Yorkers (there is no other group this movie reaches) then you may get something from this film.

It is stagey, and self-indulgent. Woody at his worst. 'Who talks like this?'

P.S. People compare it to Interiors (I like) Interiors maintains its boundaries of film. This thing gets into novelization, stage, and lecture. Focus on philosophy and psychology.

Mercifully short, this seems anything but

[christopher-underwood · 5/10 · 6 April 2021]

Sadly it would seem that Woody Allen's work has not worn well. Here in 'one of his serious ones' we seems particularly ill served with an assortment of characters who spout pretentious and unrealistic dialogue. Beginning with the interesting premise that a writer finds she can hear into nearby psychiatric sessions, this soon degenerates into a pastiche of overindulgent soul searching between a bunch of well off New Yorkers. This is not helped with having Mia Farrow indulging in her favourite role as the hard done by little lady (pregnant throughout too!) but gradually we tire of everyone as they complain about lives that don't seem real anyway. Mercifully short, this seems anything but.

Woody's delicate drama

[drosse67 · 20 October 2002]

This is by far my favorite Woody Allen straight drama (most of his other "serious" films, like Crimes and Misdemeanors and Husbands & Wives, have comedic moments). His third "heavy film" (after Interiors and September) is chamber drama, beautifully acted and directed. Most of the elements found in Allen's other post "Annie Hall" films are here (the upper crust Manhattan intellectuals, dysfunctional relationships), but what's missing are the laughs. The film is very serious stuff, involving repressed emotions and alienation. There is simply no place for Woody's usually nervous character in Another Woman. You can still tell that this is one of his films because of the characterizations. Gena Rowlands is in nearly every scene and is classy, as usual, and the rest of the ensemble cast is just as good. My favorites were Gene Hackman and Ian Holm. The title is fairly clever as well; it doesn't refer to what you might think.

Dismal. cerebral journey, no match for Bergman's classic

[HuntinPeck80 · 6/10 · 28 July 2023]

A lot of narration in this one.

Marion is on leave of absence to begin writing a book. An academic, a philosophy professor. She mentions her mother's recent death as if it were a change in the weather. Married to Ken, a cardiologist ('he examined my heart, liked what he saw, and proposed'), she rents a small flat downtown in order to have somewhere quiet to work on the book, but is quickly distracted by conversations taking place in the next door psychiatrist's office. The conversations are amazingly loud, no wonder the apartment was available. Couple this with her sister-in-law's revelation that brother Paul not only idolises but hates Marion, and our protagonist begins a slow journey into the past to reexamine her life.

Another Woman (1988) smacks of Bergman's beguiling film Wild Strawberries (1957), minus the crisp b/w photography. The film's cinematography is a panoply of greys, muted tones, low lighting. It lacks the glacial beauty of Interiors (1978), a beauty that offset the characters' crushing search for perfection. The husband, Ken, is played by Ian Holm with repulsive tact and quiet pomposity. Gene Hackman is Marion's rejected lover. 'What can I say to change your heart?' There's a bit too much dialogue like that. Add to it the drab look of the film, the absence of sex appeal, and, well, meh. The teenage stepdaughter arrives at the apartment and says, 'Wow, this is great, I like it a lot.' This after having taken one step over the threshold, that's all. Later she asks an 89-year-old man if he thinks he could fall in love again. The line exists purely for Marion to disapprove. No teenager would ask such a sad relic such a preposterous question. Later, discussing Marion's preferred charities and good causes: 'Just give me a flutter of famine'. Did she really say THAT? A flutter? No, she didn't, it's 'a flood or a famine', but it still sounds glib. Later, when Marion dreams her way into one of Hope's (Mia Farrow) therapy sessions, the therapist asks Hope what enrages her: 'Life...The universe. The cruelty. The injustice. The suffering of humanity...'. The viewer is primed and ready for a classic Woody Allen zinger. His films, his prose, full of punchlines that pop the balloon of grandiosity. Do we get it? No. Just a brief reply, worthy of the not so brief Jordan Peterson: 'Don't worry about humanity all the time. Get your own life in order'.

Another Woman is so full of self recriminations, confessions, regrets, that one yearns for a character like Maureen Stapleton to cheer them all up, reconcile them to life's disappointments; to do the comedian's job. 'Tell funnier jokes', urged the Martians in Allen's film Stardust Memories (1980). Even if he couldn't find enough meaning in his comedy, others have. He should have made more of an effort to get to know them. In the end his character Marion does, but it's a tedious journey watching her get there.

'No, no more', Marion says around the hour mark. My sentiments exactly.

Rowlands is a revelation, and the film matches her.

[Rockwell_Cronenberg · 8/10 · 30 January 2012]

Devastating, unlike anything I've seen from Woody Allen so far. This was a very quiet, deliberately paced exploration into a woman facing a mid-life crisis, played with extraordinary skill by Gena Rowlands. It leaned maybe a little too much on narration when it could have utilized her talent as an actress instead, but that's a small complaint when the final result is so powerful.

Rowlands' Marion Post rents an apartment in order to work on her novel and, through hearing the patients of the psychiatrist's office next door, slowly begins to examine her life and the choices that she has made. We see her interact with those surrounding her, be it her husband, her daughter, her brother, but she always feels a level removed from all of them. Over the years she has isolated herself from everyone around her and examines them rather than interacts, and Rowlands plays this with a knowledge so fitting and serene.

There's an extended dream sequence a little over halfway through the picture that is one of the most surreal, emotional and illuminating experiences I've had in a Woody Allen picture and one of my favorite moments in the twenty or so films of his I've seen. It imagines her life as a stage play that she watches take place, and it opens the world back up to Marion, which is displayed in master strokes on the all-telling face of Rowlands. She gives a performance for the ages here, working mostly from the inside out, although there are a few devastating scenes of her letting herself fall apart.

I was surprised at how little Mia Farrow was in it, given that she's on the cover for it and the plot synopsis makes her part seem a lot more major, but she manages to leave an impression, although the most surprising of the supporting cast was Gene Hackman. I'm used to seeing him (and loving him) in varying crime pictures, so it was nice to see him take on a more grounded and every day character, which despite only appearing for a brief time he manages to leave a lasting impression with his emotionally conflicted portrayal. You can really feel this character that he displays, feel his love and heartache in every breath.

Still, the film absolutely belongs to Rowlands, who resonated so deeply inside of me and will surely stick there for a while. She knocks it out of the park in a film that is so unique, cerebral and magnificent from Woody Allen.

Another Woman

[oOoBarracuda · 6/10 · 28 July 2017]

Another Woman: An interesting illustration of the enduring effects of childhood experiences. The film comes off a bit strong in the nature v. nurture debate, for me anyway. The characters were also a bit wooden, and the film plays a bit like a poor stage adaptation. Overall, however, a decent entry in Woody Allen's filmography.

Makes Us Reflect On The Choices We Make In Life

[FilmScores · 10/10 · 20 November 2001]

This is not like any other Woody Allen movie I've seen before. He writes and directs this film which hits many levels of the human heart. The acting is well performed and the subject matter makes you reflect upon your own life and the choices you've made along the way. This one is to be added to your collection.

The Better of Two Gloomy Woody Allen Dramas from the Same Time Period

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 28 July 2008]

Woody Allen was in a bad mood in 1988, for he made two of his most sombre films: "September" and "Another Woman." "September" is dreadful, but "Another Woman" is quite good. Gena Rowlands plays a troubled woman who overhears the therapy sessions of an anonymous younger woman (Mia Farrow) through the vents in her apartment, and whose life begins to be impacted by what she hears. The film is a character study that gives Rowlands freedom to act up a storm, which she does, well, and it gives an ensemble cast of recognizable faces juicy little parts as the people who come in and out of Rowlands' life.

The biggest problem with Allen's dramas is that they're oppressive. He seems to think that a serious-themed film must be completely devoid of humour in order to be effective. "Another Woman" doesn't entirely escape that trap, but strong writing and acting carry it through and make it feel like more than a Bergman rip-off, which is exactly what "September" does feel like.

Grade: B

"I wondered if a memory is something you have or something you've lost."

[Galina_movie_fan · 9/10 · 22 June 2006]

In Woody Allen's "Another Woman", Marion (Gena Rowlands) is the head of a university department of philosophy and also a member of several important committees. She is an expert in Art, music, and an amateur painter. She is in a comfortable and successful marriage to a physician (Ian Holmes), and has a close and friendly relationship with her husband's teenage daughter from an earlier marriage (Martha Plimpton). Marion is writing a book and decides to rents an office in a downtown building. When in the office, she inadvertently overhears a woman (Mia Farrow) in a session with her psychoanalyst and begins to look back at her own life, identity, relationships, and purpose.

I watched "Another Woman" for the first time last night and I am totally engrossed by it. I love everything about it. Actually, it is the first Allen's strict drama that I love so much. It will go very high on my Woody's favorites list. The film is so Woodyesque even if it doesn't have any laughs - it is still his style, his Manhattan, his favorite music, his long takes, his intellect, his sincere, intelligent, and emotional contemplations of life's disappointment, regrets, and losses. I think it is one of Allen's most profound and warmest films. Yes, warmest, because Marion looks at the first 50 years of her life in a true and painful light, but she also would learn that there is hope, that anything can be changed and life could be started over even at 50. She will reevaluate her life and her relationships with her husband, father, brother, step-daughter, and friends. She may not find the answers for all the questions but she certainly learns a lot about herself. I've seen John Cassavetes' "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) and I know how great the actress Gena Rowlands is but I was amazed by her performance in "Another Woman". Allen gave her wonderful material to work with and she was superb - strong, reserved, brilliant woman, incredibly attractive at her 50. It is a dream role for an intelligent middle-aged actress but sadly, Hollywood does not provide them very often.

A lot has been said about Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" (I'd add "Cries and Whispers" and "Face to Face") influence to "Another Woman" but it is not a remake. We all at some point of our lives "lose the way we traveled by and enter a dark forest." The artists by the power of their talents capture the moments of search for meaning and put them on the canvas, on the paper or on screen. Even if they meditate on the same theme, each artist uses his unique tools, and brings his unique vision and talent.

In "Another Woman" Allen created an excellent character study which is on par with his best and more famous films. Wonderful Rowlands is surrounded by the first class supporting players including Ian Holms, Blythe Danner, Sandy Dennis, and Gene Hackman. Allen's use of music is touching and delicate as in all his movies. "Another Woman" is one of the best unfairly forgotten films and it deserves to be rediscovered, respected, and admired. It is certainly, the best of Allen's pure drama films.

character study

[fmwongmd · 6/10 · 21 November 2020]

In what amounts to a character study portrayed masterfully by Gena Rowlands, it keeps the audience interested.

This is a film of introspection and marvelous performances. A central theme of the film is that people can transform their lives to become more fulfilled.

[bell-benn · 10/10 · 18 January 2016]

"I realize you have been hurt. If I've done anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I accept your condemnation." "You are a member of Amnesty International and the ACLU. And the head of the philosophy department. Impossible!" These are two of my favorite quotes from the Woody Allen film, Another Woman. I like them each equally well but for different reasons. The first is such an outrageous statement by a phony pomposity of an ego so far gone as to defy augury and the other hits a little too close to home with the exception of being the head of the philosophy department. Woody Allen strikes gold here with his study of intellectual angst and mid life crisis. It would not be too much of an exaggeration to declare this film to be a mini-masterpiece.

I ran across this neglected, forgotten and, probably one you never heard of mini-masterpiece while scrolling through HULU one night looking for something decent to watch. Oh, a film by Woody Allen! Let me check it out. Probably seen it before but what the heck? So I cued it up and started watching. Curiously enough I didn't remember anything about it and was soon captivated and mesmerized by the haunting voice-over by one of it's stars and the brilliant cinematography of one of the worlds foremost cinematographers.

Another Woman was released in late 1988 and runs for 81 minutes. It was written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Gena Rowlands as Marion Post, a middle aged philosophy teacher who is on sabbatical to write a book. It is her voice-over we hear as the movie begins. She is describing her life as accomplished and reasonably well settled.

She rents an apartment downtown to work on her book without distraction and discovers that she is able to overhear the conversation between a patient (Mia Farrow) and her psychiatrist through the heating vents coming from the adjoining apartment. At first Marion blocks off the sound with pillows but later she starts to listen in. The patient is despondent, pregnant, and thinking of ending her life. Her name ironically is Hope.

This conversation gets Marion to thinking about her own life and through series of coincidences, ruminations and, flashbacks, she encounters people from previous times in her life and she discovers she is not as happy as she thought she was.

This is a film of introspection and marvelous performances. A central theme of the film is that people can transform their lives to become more fulfilled. To say the film was Bergmanesque is rather stating the obvious. It has long been known that Woody has been greatly influenced by the Swedish master, Ingmar Bergman. Some say that this film resembles Wild Strawberries but I think it is more Persona like, which was also photographed by Sven Nykvist, Bergman's favored cinematographer.

This is a wonderful film which I highly recommend.

A film more to be appreciated than to be enjoyed

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 2 January 2015]

"Another Woman" is not the easiest Woody Allen film to get into. It has some fine moments of observation, it allows several members of its outstanding cast a chance in the spotlight, and it comes to a beautiful, almost cathartic ending. But it often is as stuffy, suffocating and mannered as the type of character and lifestyle that it purports to condemn. Woody Allen is the master of balancing comedy with drama, as he has shown multiple times in his career; "Another Woman" represents one of the few times that he completely removes almost every ounce of comedy. Two years later, he made a film ("Alice") that dealt pretty much with the same themes as "Another Woman", but because he allowed comedy - and fantasy - back into it, without sacrificing some dead-serious moments, the result was more varied and more satisfying, to me at least. **1/2 out of 4.

Ghastly

[JasparLamarCrabb · 1/10 · 25 August 2014]

Woody Allen's ghastly drama is so uninvolving the viewer is left stunned at it's utter badness. Gene Rowlands is an academic writing a new book and finds that the studio she's renting allows her to overhear some painful conversations taking place in the psychiatrist's office next door. She soon re-evaluates her own life and realizes that she is not a good person and the people in her orbit hate her. There is snotty husband Ian Holm, underachieving brother Harris Yulin, bitter best friend Sandy Dennis and truth-telling sister-in-law Frances Conroy. Rowlands has so much thrown at her, it's a surprise she doesn't just kill herself. There's not a single sympathetic character in this whole 81 minute angst ridden treadmill test. It's cold, humorless and stodgy. It's a pseudo- intellectuals idea of a Bergman film that fails at every level. Pretentious and then some ---this film has to hold some sort of record for its continuous mention of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Blech! Gene Hackman, Blythe Danner, Martha Plimpton, Betty Buckley, John Houseman, Philip Bosco, David Ogden Stiers and Mia Farrow contribute absolutely zero with their small roles.