United States | 1974 | John Cassavetes

“No one wants to see a crazy, middle-aged dame,” John Cassavetes was told when he was trying to raise funds for the project he wrote inspired by his wife Gena Rowland’s desire to appear in a play about the difficulties faced by women. 50 years later, A Woman Under the Influence is a testament to Cassavetes’ directorial vision with searing performances from Rowlands and Peter Falk. The film is taken to represent one of the peaks of American realist cinema, and is lauded for its examination of the way society treats women’s ‘hysteria.’ Mabel (Rowlands), desperate and lonely, craves happiness but her volatile behavior convinces her husband Nick (Falk) that she poses a danger to their family. 155 min.