Eine Frau unter Einfluß (1974)

Eine Frau unter Einfluß: Directed by John Cassavetes. With Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands. Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.

“This is just another confirmation that Cassavetes, along with Dreyer and Tarkovsky, is one of the very small number of geniuses in film, whose every film is an extension of their genius — some more mature than others, but impossible to be u0026quot;badu0026quot;; they are beyond terms like u0026quot;goodu0026quot; or u0026quot;badu0026quot; — they are the great art works of the century.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film isnu0026#39;t about a u0026quot;crazyu0026quot; lady; itu0026#39;s not about putting a woman in an institution; and itu0026#39;s not about people talking about your crazy wife, though all of this happens in the film. Those are merely the events that take place over the course of the film; what itu0026#39;s really about is our misunderstanding, our experience as an audience. Just like the characters, we misunderstand Mableu0026#39;s childlike actions. What Cassavetes does is turn *us* into children — itu0026#39;s as if weu0026#39;re experiencing things for the first time all over again, because itu0026#39;s a totally new experience, the same with watching a movie like u0026quot;Andrei Rublev.u0026quot; That is an amazing thing to pass onto an audience. Thatu0026#39;s why Iu0026#39;ve never been bored watching a Cassavetes film — something is always happening, things are always changing. The reality of what weu0026#39;re seeing is always undergoing augmentation, so we can never get fully situated.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s never unrelenting gloom the way many so-called realistic films are (and this film goes far beyond mere u0026quot;realismu0026quot;); itu0026#39;s devastating watching it, watching Mable ask people if they want spaghetti one by one. But itu0026#39;s loving when Nick jokes about someone hugging her too long. Itu0026#39;s communal during a scene at a dinnertable where Mable takes a pride in feeding u0026quot;her boys.u0026quot; But each scene goes through a transformation as it happens. When Mable goes home with another man, he makes it clear that heu0026#39;s not to be used, but also that she shouldnu0026#39;t punish herself. Itu0026#39;s not a screamy moment with a woman hiding in the bathroom; his avuncular twang is disarming.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s a complete lack of self-consciousness in the film, and I mean that in terms of the characters (during Mableu0026#39;s key freak out scene, Rowlands does, I think, go too far) — thatu0026#39;s why the kids are s terrific in the film. When a boy says, u0026quot;Itu0026#39;s the best I can do, mom,u0026quot; itu0026#39;s an incredible moment because itu0026#39;s managed to be included without being offensive, mugging for the camera with cuteness. The film has such a strange relationship with kids — theyu0026#39;re like little people. And if that sounds odd, youu0026#39;ll understand when you see the film. The characters are constantly changing their minds; theyu0026#39;re so aware of themselves that theyu0026#39;re unaware — Mable doesnu0026#39;t realize sheu0026#39;s giving off a sexual aura (despite the fact that Rowlands can at times look like a blond beach babe). As with Julianne Moore in u0026quot;Safe,u0026quot; we donu0026#39;t know whatu0026#39;s wrong with her. Sheu0026#39;s a frenetic, guideless woman trying to do the guiding.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe way Cassavetes sets up the film, with ominous piano music that comes in when Falk is trying to speak, blinded by frustration; or setting the film inside this house with gigantic rooms, makes everything feel larger and emptier at the same time. Itu0026#39;s like the scariness of the echo of something youu0026#39;d rather not hear. Someone said that they wouldnu0026#39;t want a single frame of u0026quot;2001u0026quot; to be cut, lest the experience be changed. I think that applies more aptly to Cassavetesu0026#39; films, because he never treads over the same thing twice, even when heu0026#39;s doing exactly the same thing heu0026#39;s just done. Itu0026#39;s always something new. 9/10”