Monday | April 26, 2004 7:00 pm

A Woman Under the Influence

Screening on Film

Directed by John Cassavetes.
With Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel.
US, 1974, 35mm, color, 148 min.

John Cassavetes offered a new cinematic vision to Americans, one centered on relationships and fueled by the raw performances of his extraordinary ensemble company. A Woman under the Influence is perhaps his most fully realized work. Gena Rowland’s performance earned an Academy Award nomination for her riveting portrayal of the emotionally broken Mabel, who struggles to remain sane in a world where she is expected to “grin and bear it.” Peter Falk is equally potent as Mabel’s hard-hat husband, who cannot handle her slide into insanity.