A Woman Under The Influence Like steep hikes up a mountain side, Cassavetes "A Woman Under The Influence" can be hard work to traverse, taking a lot out of you with each step, but the view from the top makes the taxing journey worth every second of struggle.
John Cassavetes most famous feature, despite being shunned by every distributor you could imagine, is about a story too real for people to accept, especially in the 1970s where men were the most manliest of men.
Cassavetes makes his viewers invisible guests in the Longhetti household, where we uncomfortably participate in watching the breakdown of a long-lasting marriage. During our stay, while we sneak around the house and invade private memories, there are many times where we - the viewers - are made to feel like we're part of the problem, always prying, watching, judging, and we know we shouldn't be there, but we can't leave. Instead, we hide in the shadows of everybody else, staying hidden, and out of the way, but always watching, and in those moments, we see everything. We witness the passion between the deeply in love couple, a love so strong it keeps two incompatible people trying to make it work, even when they know it can't. We also witness the many things that make these two people completely incompatible, and it's all soul destroying to experience, so be prepared. Every act is a breathtaking whirlwind of raw, unfiltered emotion, one that knocks you down every time you've just managed to pull yourself up.
Nothing in this film is easily digested, and none of it is cut and dry, black and white, easy to understand, empathise, or sympathise. The characters are just as complex as the times they were living in, and it tackles real domestic issues in such a raw, unapologetic way, that it hurts your heart. So remember all this before you quickly jump to your conclusions.
Mabel has an innocent, almost childlike nature. She's shy, eccentric, anxious, socially awkward, unhappy, alone, and in dire need of comfort and support from her husband. She's left at home every day to be nothing but the typical "household wife/mum". Cook, clean, host her husbands many guests, raise the children. Rinse and repeat. In the two and half hour runtime, her and her husband Nick spend no more than 5 or so minutes alone, and that's literally all she wants needs... to be alone with her husband and children. Her mundane life and the overwhelming emotions she is feeling are eating away at her psyche, leading to irrational behaviour her husband doesn't understand. Gradually, her behaviour becomes more and more volatile, and erratic, especially in the company of anybody but her husband and children. She no longer feels like her own person, with value or any other purpose in this world, but to belong to somebody else. More an object that someone owns, than a person to love. And she's experiencing changes within her body, mind, and heart, and she understands them just as little as her husband. All she needed from him was patience, love, compassion, support, but she didn't know how to ask for it, any more than her husband knew how to give it.
Nick loves Mabel, not that he knows how to communicate that with her. He's a manly man, whose use to going to work all day, spending little time at home with his family because if he's not working, he's out with work mates drinking. He's also use to, or rather expects, his wife a certain way, the way he wants her to be, the way he is use to seeing her. He isn't prepared for this change: the world hasn't prepared him, neither has his life experience. Not to mention the societal politics and pressure of that point in time, his lack of patience, volcanic anger, the lack of medical information on mental health, it all contributed to his inability to understand, or at least his refusal to try. Sadly, this meant he would sooner define his wife as mentally ill, than accept she may just be different to how he envisions her. He essentially sees what Mabel is doing as an inconvenience to his life, because the way he sees it, there shouldn't be anything wrong with her, so why is she acting this way. To him, in his time, her being increasingly unusual, not acting the way he is use to, that could only mean she's certifiably mental, right? There was no inbetween, depression "wasn't real," bi-polar didn't have a diagnosis until the 80s, so how was he to know any better in that regard? And if there wasn't such a stigma about what was expected of male patriarchal figures in those days, would he have been more compassionate? Either way, in my opinion, no matter what day in time we may live in, you should always stand up for the people you love. You should always make an effort to understand. And you should always make an effort to let those people know you love them to, warts and all.
If you've reached this far in the review, I'm sure you would have gathered by now, just how many layers there are to this timeless, selflessly educative story, and the real people at the heart of it. John Cassavetes isn't called the pioneer of independent cinema for nothing. He, and this film in particular, have influenced many directors throughout time, from Scorsese to Charlotte Wells. And there's really no wonder as to why when you start dissecting it, examining each incredibly rich and technically astounding element. It features one of the best written screenplays of all time, one so ahead of its time, so real and authentic, that studios were too scared to back it. Two magnificent performances from leading man Peter Falk, and the sensational Gena Rowlands. The latter of which is without a doubt, one of the best performances, by any actor, male or female, ever! Period. It boasts one of the best, most complex female characters to ever grace our screens. Cassavetes employs a wide range of unique cinematic techniques, and narrative devices, that he was the first to achieve. There was nobody making films like him, that covered the subjects they covered, and that were as daring in narrative as they were visually.
I'm obsessed with the likes of Kore-eda, and his works, and Cassavetes was doing it before him, so as you can imagine, I have fallen head over heels in love with Cassavetes and his unflinchingly raw, beautiful portraits of people.
If you like films like, "Aftersun," "C'mon C'mon," "Shoplifters," "Mommy," "Sorry We Missed You," you'll love "A Woman Under The Influence".
If you like filmmakers like, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Hirokazu Kore-eda, you'll love Cassavetes.