This film, "Woman Under The Influence" purports a very compelling illustration of mental illness. The movie depicts a blue collar family which is writhing in a very desultory state of affairs to begin with. This upheaval is compounded when it winds up culminating with the wife's debilitating cerebral condition! The aggregate domestic despondence that the Longhetti family is experiencing has thrown all of them into a tumultuous tailspin! Because Gena Rowland's mental anguish is unable to pinpoint, comprehension of the cause of such a disease became a proverbial needle in a haystack. Peter Falk plays the husband, he is rough around the edges to begin with, his patience has an agitated overtone attached to it!! The fact that his wife is stricken with a psychological handicap now manifested itself into an excruciating breaking point that he and his family were coerced into dealing with! While the wife (Gena Rowlands) seems presumably normal most of the time, she really is not, furthermore, being normal only 75% of the time will not suffice, sorry to be so fussy!! Her condition ruthlessly erodes at this family's emotional resolve, and presents itself as a heinous source of consternation for all parties involved! All of the major characters in this film were continuously elaborating on the rudimentary components of a very precarious and visceral survival. Gena Rowland's dubious plight was the virulent culprit to everyone else's anxiety, (including the children's) Her little skit, which she performed with a hair ribbon, sort of explained what type of person she was. Such a caricatured display gave you the indication that she was basically intelligent and imaginative, however, her illness had rendered her mentally irrational. As a result, the entire family became burdened with an apocalyptic living nightmare!! The director of this film, John Cassevetes, is absolutely phenomenal at portraying a number of pejorative aspects of human nature that are extremely difficult for many people to stomach. Reality has the potential to offend many movie viewers whether it intends to do so or not!! "A Woman Under The Influence" evokes such a scrutinizing display of haunting realism, that it has been the noteworthy recipient of the critically acclaimed accolade of "stunningly unique" in the cinema world. Gena Rowland's troubles did not delve into dirges of neon accented insanity, rather, they dealt with a series of illogical obsessions. These compulsions wound up pontificating an acute itemization of the type of disconcerting mental disease that she was afflicted with. Peter Falk did not want to commit his spouse to a mental institution, yet, living with her became an obstacle course from Hell!! His predicament became a choice between the devil or the deep blue sea!! This film is totally fabulous!! John Cassevetes is one of the greatest directors in the history of Hollywood!! Made right around the time of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" "A Woman Under The Influence" deals with the same dreadful similarities to unexplained mental handicaps, and their lethal complexities. The directing to this movie is outstanding! The acting is incredible! "A Woman Under The Influence" possesses an overall ideological fervor which entitles it to be amidst an onslaught of movies which are categorized as emphatically first rate!!! TEN STARS!! Definitely!!!
Review of A Woman Under the Influence
