Review of A Woman Under the Influence (1974) by Ben W — 29 Nov 2009

A film of terrible power. its about people who are frequently slaves to their emotions. not that we all arent from time to time, but it seems to be in this film that no one can properly express themselves. and as far as I can tell, it all stems from the character played by peter falk, a man who is emotionally deficient. he has very little control over how he reacts to much of anything. he is incapable of explaining his feelings about anything to anyone at all, not to mention speaking so loudly and emphatically that no one else can get a word in to try and explain themselves to him. while rowlands character (who is wonderfully portrayed) is inarticulate and obviously struggling with things, I think that she could get somewhere were it not for her husband. and if he acts like that on a regular basis, its likely that much of the reason shes come to such a volatile psychological position could easily be attributed to falk.

Its a great cassavetes film, one that many consider to be his masterpiece. though I havent seen them all yet, I have to say I liked faces better. its still an incredible film that deals with those "small emotions" that cassavetes thought were suppressed in american society.