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A Woman Under the Influence

Play trailer 2:59 Poster for A Woman Under the Influence R,  1974,  2h 35m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Stream Now Watchlist 88% 41 Reviews Tomatometer 91% 5,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands), desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick (Peter Falk). Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and he decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.
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A Woman Under the Influence

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Critics Consensus

Electrified by searing performances from Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, A Woman Under the Influence finds pioneering independent filmmaker John Cassavetes working at his artistic peak.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Smith Slant Magazine Feb 8, 2026
John Cassavetes’s films were born out of emotional truth. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael The New Yorker Sep 27, 2023
Cassavetes has gone so far over to the most literal-minded Laing position that the society he shows us is implausible -- a society of boorish people with such limited awareness that they're barely human. Go to Full Review
Adam Kempenaar Filmspotting Mar 2, 2019
4.5/5
'Be yourself,' Nick implores Mabel. But how do you be yourself if you have no longer have a self? Go to Full Review
Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week May 21, 2026
Gena Rowlands does something that actors playing mentally ill characters almost never do—just play the person. Go to Full Review
Frank J. Avella The Contending Feb 25, 2026
B+
Rowland’s brave performance has such emotional depth it sometimes threatens to go off the rails, but the actress always knows just when to dial it back a bit. It’s a true beguiling turn. Go to Full Review
Daniel Barnes Dare Daniel Feb 17, 2026
5/5
A searing, emotionally exhausting kitchen sink drama that's also bizarrely funny, with world-class performances from Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Anakin G Mar 22, 2019 its long, painful and annoying, but i did enjoy the film
Jan 26, 2019 Th best, GREATEST movie ever made!
Theodore S Sep 16, 2018 "A Woman Under the Influence" is a film that I certainly feel that I need to watch again. It's one that proves to be so difficult to catch each and every subtlety and moment as you move through the story. I found myself liking it and hating it all at the same time. Part of why I liked it was because it proved to be a relatable story in the slow downfall of a woman stuck in the monotony of stay at home motherhood. I also disliked it for the same reasons in that it was so difficult to watch her downfall. So many people faulted her so much for how she behaved rather than sought out to get her help and guidance and help her get better. It made me feel extremely conflicted in that I empathized with Mabel, but I also empathized with Nick. I had a hard time rooting for them both at the same time. It seemed that they both wanted the same things; however, they were never able to be on the same wavelength with it. From my perspective, the film was a success in that it told a human story that we had never seen before. It broke the mold for films of that type for that time. It served to bring something more out of us as an audience rather than to just make us laugh and cry. Cassavetes made us uncomfortable. When Nick and Mabel had their climactic argument, instead of cutting away when the going got tough, Cassavetes stayed in the discomfort. It truly is a remarkable and difficult thing to be wanting and willing to tell a story like that and Cassavetes truly excelled. See more
Kylo G Mar 27, 2018 A Woman Under the Influence definitely has a powerful, emotionally resonant story and fantastic performances from its talented cast, but the film is ridiculously long at two and half hours and thus it is overly prolonged and dull with its impact being blunted. It has five important scenes and the rest is basically filler. See more
Hermione W Oct 18, 2017 Rowlands' Mabel is to talkies what Falconetti's Joan of Arc is to silents.
Hermione W Oct 3, 2017 Powerful movie - as deeply disturbing as it is moving and enlightening. Most reviews and summaries of this movie tell it as though a woman, Mabel, is unstable and her husband,Nick, must do something about it. However as the movie progresses it becomes apparent that Nick is the unstable one, and everyone else, as sheep in our patriarchal. suppressed and fearful society, simply conform. What did Mabel do wrong? She is nothing but love, expressed uniquely as herself. The others, with the exception of a few, express the insanity that we call conformity, status quo, and "normal".... What a brilliant movie. See more
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A Woman Under the Influence

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Movie Info

Synopsis Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands), desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick (Peter Falk). Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and he decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.
Director
John Cassavetes
Producer
Sam Shaw
Distributor
Touchstone Pictures
Production Co
Faces
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 10, 1974, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 29, 2011
Runtime
2h 35m
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