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A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Poll 10 actors about the most influential screen performances of all time, and someone is going to bring up A Woman Under the Influence.
The reason is simple but rare. Gena Rowlands does something that actors playing mentally ill characters almost never do—just play the person. Mabel (Rowlands) is a housewife in 1970s Los Angeles whose behavior becomes increasingly eccentric amid the isolating pressures of home life, while her husband (Peter Falk) is either absent at work or suddenly bringing over large groups of co-workers for dinner.
Mabel might be bipolar, but it’s not a movie that cares about diagnoses. John Cassavetes (writer, director, and real-life husband of Rowlands) is far more interested in the ways a person’s behavior is inextricable from their personality, from the way they love and are loved by the people in their lives.
And Rowlands is so alive—overflowing with mannerisms without being the slightest bit mannered—that she can build and cut tension of the entire story with a side eye, a jaw clench, or a pantomimed joke only Mabel understands. Academy Theater, May 22–28.
Also Playing:
5th Avenue: Homework (1989) and To Be and To Have (2002) double feature, May 22–24. Academy: Drive (2011), Angel’s Egg (1985), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), May 20 and 21. Perfect Blue (1997), The Hired Hand (1971), May 22–28. Cinema 21: Them! (1954), May 23. Cinemagic: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), May 20. Pusher III (2005), May 21. Wheels of Fire (1985), May 22. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), May 22 and 25. Mad Max (1979), May 23 and 26. The Road Warrior (1981), May 23. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), May 23 and 26. Memorial Valley Massacre (1988), May 24. Furiosa (2024), May 24. Clinton: The Stone Wood Witches (1976), May 20. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), May 23. Cult Classics: Rad (1986), May 24. Hollywood: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), May 20 and 21. No Bears (2022), May 21. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), May 24 and 25. Aliens (1986), May 23. Taxi Driver (1976), May 23 and 24. Antichrist (2009), May 25. Mission: The General (1926) with live score, May 22. Blade Runner (1982), May 23. Tomorrow: El Topo (1970), May 21. Lost Highway (1997), May 22. Oldboy (2003), May 24.
