Review of Another Woman (1988) by Michael S — 22 Aug 2009

One of the most beautiful, honest and empathetic depictions of emotional isolation and midlife crisis ever captured, this marks one of the very high points in Allen's career as a filmmaker. Using a remarkably economic style - vignettes, memories, dreams - to tell an interior tale, Woody has asserted himself here as a filmmaker with a newfound interest and maturity in his style.

There are some truly searing scenes on display here, and some very astute observations about a certain kind of dreadful life revelation: you may not be who you think you are. And the return of Gena Rowlands to a role that displays a side of her talent we hadn't yet seen so clearly was another revelation.

For such a short film to be filled with so much insight and poetry is equally breathtaking. This is as penetrating a depiciton of a person's inner landscape as it gets, to witness the crossroads and choices made and to size it all up in hindsight.

To see it and see it again is like catching your reflection in a mirror. Be prepared to ask yourself the same questions...