While a fan of Woody Allen I never found him to be the
cinematic genius that some did. He made good solid movies and some tremendous
comedies in his career. But to rank him among the best directors always seemed
like a stretch for me.
In the eighties following several hit comedies Allen turned
away from the genre and began making more dramatic films. Influenced by Ingmar
Bergman some took on a dark tone and almost all followed the lives of women in
the lead. Critically acclaimed for the most part the films died at the box
office. And yet year after year studios still supported his films.
ANOTHER WOMAN is one of the films from that time period.
Gena Rowlands stars as Marion, the Dean of Philosophy at a woman’s college on
sabbatical as she writes a new book on the subject. To do so and avoid
disruptions she takes an apartment that is next door to a psychiatrist’s
office. She discovers this when she finds she can hear his patients through the
ventilation system. Putting pillows against the vent she shuts them out until
one slips and she wakes from a nap to hear a woman talking about the problems
she’s having with her husband.
The more she listens the more Marion begins to question the
respectable life she now leads and the relationship she has with her own husband,
Ken (Ian Holm). Compared to their friends their lives seem unadventurous and
boring. An attempt to reignite their flame is rebuffed by Ken. This makes
Marion recall their lives just before marriage, when the two of them were
having an affair behind the back of Ken’s first wife Kathy (Betty Buckley) and
when his best friend Larry (Gene Hackman) encouraged Marion to leave Ken and
run away with him.
With each passing day Marion becomes more infatuated with
the stories the psychiatrists patient (Mia Farrow) tells him. She also finds
that her relationships are not what she thought they were. Her closest one is
with Ken’s daughter Laura (Martha Plimpton). One she had but forgot was an old
friend who became an actress (Sandy Dennis) who she finds out resented her all
along. As she begins to look at her life Marion begins to wonder who she is,
what her life is really all about and just how she has affected those around
her.
The film might sound like a boring melodrama but it isn’t.
The combination of solid performances by everyone involved as well as the
well-paced and written script makes it an interesting story and one that might
inspire everyone to give their own life a look. Do we see ourselves through the
eyes of others or are we blind to the possibility we aren’t what we think we
are?
There are no big laughs in this film but no points of
sadness that are inescapable either. Instead we get a glimpse into the life of
this woman and what goes on in her life. In true Allen fashion I must say that
his choice for characters always seems to run the same, socialites living in
high fashion going to cocktail parties and drinking wine. It would be
interesting to see what he could do choosing a different motif like a redneck
bar.
Twilight Time brings this movie back to life after being
abandoned by the original studio, another of their blu-ray releases of movies
forgotten or considered unprofitable by their home base. Extras are sparse with
only an isolated score soundtrack and the original theatrical trailer. And as
with all Twilight Time releases this title is limited to just 3,000 copies so
if you’re a fan of Allen make sure and order yours today.
Click here to order.
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