Scuba Girl First of all - enough with the trivializing "oh, of course a woman in this situation would go crazy". Mabel is mentally ill. Mental illness had more of a stigma in 1974 than 40+ years later, yet that doesn't diminish the impact of the movie or accolades of Rowlands' masterful performance. We respect Mabel for who she is - we sympathize with her. The strong performances of Rowland and Falk make for an engrossing film.The camera sits there and lets the scene happen, and what comes out is a gritty, realistic-looking piece of cinematographic history.

Channing Olivia Hyde The self-proclaimed hipsters and 'indie' film watchers of our generation have probably never heard of the 1974 film directed by John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence (and if they have, props to them). I hadn't heard of it until I did some research on the best Independent films of all time and it came up on top in several lists. I was intrigued, watched it, and came to the conclusion that this movie is a perfect example of what an Independent film should be. For those that have never heard of the term 'indie film', or simply do not know what they entail, they are simply movies that are not produced from a major film studio, and with significantly lower budgets than other feature films.A Woman Under the Influence was a low budget movie, costing only $500,000 to make. This is a drastically lower budget than, say, The Godfather: Part II - which came out the same year - with a budget of $13,000,000.Budgets are something that matter when it comes to these types of films. The budget calls for things to be simpler, such as costumes and sets, props and makeup, music and lighting, and so on. For example, the house in the movie was an actual house that they borrowed for the movie. They didn't go out and build a new house because it simply wasn't in the budget.The movie almost seems like a more realistic reality to me because the budget was so low. There are no special effects, no fancy lighting, no fancy set; everything is raw and natural, which makes the aesthetic of the movie so unique.Films in this genre tend to have the same feel to them; the aesthetics are always similar in some way or another. They are like a work of art that capture something real, and address things that large budget, big-hit blockbusters do not address. In this particular movie, the main character, Mabel Longhetti (played by Gena Rowlands - wife to the director), is mentally ill. She's crazy, and unusual, which you can see from the start. And her husband, Nick (played by Peter Falk - our generation may know him as the grandfather in The Princess Bride), sends her away to a mental institution for six months. Movies from that time never really addressed mental illness in that way, or any way for that matter, which is one reason that this movie makes such a good film.Independent films often times appear in film festivals before they become known to the public . A Woman Under the Influence appeared in both the San Sebastian Film Festival (where Gena Rowlands won Best Actress and John Cassavetes won Best Director) and the New York Film Festival. Winning awards catches the audience - and critics'- attention, which gives the movie the attention it deserves, but I believe this movie deserves more attention than it currently has.I absolutely recommend this movie. Though, I'll admit it's not for everyone, it sure is a film that lovers of independent films should watch. It's sad, it's dark, and it's a roller-coaster of emotion, leaving you with no resolution in the end. The film is a work of art, just as an Independent movie should be.

leelee44 A polarizing character study on the disparity between genders in tackling mental illness. Mabel is a young mother of three and wife to blue-collar worker Nick, who is desperately trying to keep up appearances while his relationship with his wife is falling apart. Despite Mabel's seemingly odd behaviour, she is a loving mother and her children adore her but one night Nick doesn't come home at night, and Mabel begins to fall apart at the seams. As her behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre, her relationships begins to crumble and Nick's frustration mounts as he struggles to get a handle on his family. Shot documentary-style, 'A Woman Under the Influence' is one of the most honest portrayals of 'group-think' culture and the intimate effects of gender inequality.

hughman55 Another IMDb reviewer, Dolly_Lo, wrote a review in September 2009, titled "Don't Accept It". See below:"Cassavetes was clearly an intelligent, sensitive man with bold new ideas about making films. He wanted to be an auteur, to break away from the confines of the system and bring a new realism to the American cinema. For that, I applaud him.Unfortunately, as a member of his audience, I cannot applaud A Woman Under the Influence. Cassavetes took what could have been a fascinating topic (an insane woman) and somehow managed to craft a dull film, filled with lengthy, ad-libbed ranting and drawn-out scenes. He seems to have had a gift for capturing the dullest moments of a person's life on film, and it often appears as though he simply turned the camera on his family and let the motor run and run. This tactic would be acceptable if Cassavetes had captured something devastatingly REAL -- or even a kernel of something so real it touched the heart in ways a conventional film could not. Yet I found the performances, particularly Rowlands', to be artificial. I never believed for a moment that she was really insane. I have met people who are truly mentally disturbed, yet I've never seen any of them act quite like Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence. She played it like a very obnoxious, uninhibited woman who drinks a lot, and even that was confusing because we only see her drink once (at the beginning), but she acts drunk for the remainder of the film. There are some moments in which she taps into something real, but those moments are few and far between; she fails to sustain a seamless mentally disturbed character. Again, I applaud her efforts, but effort alone is not enough to make the performance ring true.Novice audiences who happen upon this film and see its high IMDb rating will no doubt feel compelled to love it and rate it highly, just to prove that they 'get it.' But don't be brainwashed by the hype -- judge for yourself. You don't have to pretend to like it.Like Woody Allen, John Cassavetes could be accused of solipsism in his film-making, seeming to find his own psyche and his own life experiences so endlessly fascinating that he couldn't imagine that to others they appeared presumptive and tortuously self-indulgent. But Woody Allen at least has demonstrated a gift for keeping an audience entertained -- he knows that a compelling story structure and a good dose of humor are essential to any movie. If Cassavetes had employed some self-discipline (and a sharp pair of editing shears!), A Woman Under the Influence could have stood a chance. But what's the point of making a 'realistic' film if the only people who can stand to sit through it are the art-house devotees and film students who worship Cassavetes as some sort of anti-establishment deity? Without dumbing anything down, I believe Cassavetes could have made A Woman slightly more accessible by keeping the pace moving with an actual plot, instead of presenting a string of 30 minute-long scenes of ad-libbed arguments. If you just make films for yourself and a few of your fans, you're just reaching the already converted. Watch this movie with your own set of eyes and make your own decisions about it. If you are truly moved and fascinated by it, good for you." I don't think I can improve on this review as it exactly reflects my own independent impression of this film. Dolly_Lo, however, has already read my mind and written it herself so I'll just site her and leave it at that. I would only add this. Take a hatchet and chop this film up. Put it back together anyway you like and it won't make a bit of difference it the outcome unless you choose to discard about 75% of it before reassembling. That would be an improvement.