Another Woman (1988)

Just perfect...

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It is one of my favorite Woody Allen films. Unlike so many of Allen's films it does not star Allen in at least a subplot where he is a neurotic failure or at least a success at something nobody else cares about that practically talks his love interest (usually played by Diane Keaton or Mia Farrow) into rejecting him over the course of the movie.Instead, and probably because Mia Farrow was pregnant at the time, it stars Gena Rowlands as Marion, the dean of philosophy at a woman's college who is taking a sabbatical to write her latest book. She feels she leads a charmed life. She is in her second marriage to her cardiologist husband, Ken (Ian Holm). Ken has been married before too, and has one child by his first wife - Laura (Martha Plimpton), now a teenager, who has a good relationship with Marion. Great job, great family, good health, what else could a person reasonably want? The film is set in New York City because, quite frankly, I just don't think director Woody Allen would feel he was not in a foreign country if he got as far away from Manhattan as just New Jersey. But that's another story.Marion has rented a room away from home where she can completely immerse herself in her work, but unfortunately the ventilation system allows her to hear everything that is said in the psychiatrist's office next door. She solves this problem by putting two large pillows over the vents between the offices. But then she takes a nap, wakes up, and realizes one of the pillows must have slipped down because she can hear the conversation going on in the psychiatrist's office again. This time, though, the conversation interests her because it is a young woman speaking about how desperately unhappy she is. As she speaks on, Marion sees parallels between her own life and the what the female patient is saying. She peeks out the door as the patient leaves and sees that she is a woman who is in the last stages of pregnancy (Mia Farrow).The rest of the film is Marion basically examining her own life in light of what the female patient is saying about her own. Marion begins to realize that she has always closed herself off from any real chance at feeling, which is rather ironic when you consider she is a leader in the field of philosophy. She examines her first marriage to a much older man, a professor of hers at the time, and what ended it. She examines how she got into a relationship with her second husband, who was still a married man at the time. He had a friend who she actually felt passion for, and he pursued her with vigor (Gene Hackman as Larry), but ultimately she picked Ken, partially, she realizes, because Ken is as cold a fish as she is and Larry's warmth and spontaneity somewhat scared her.It's a story of a life examined at age 50, and of the inevitable regrets we all have because we can't pick the right fork in the road every time. I'd strongly recommend this one. It's even very good on repeat viewing.

In every classroom, there is a genius, and chances are, that genius will be big on brains but low on social skills. You may dislike them greatly for their seemingly thesaurused vocabulary and cool diction, but they would never know it. They're caught up in themselves, more keen to boast their brightness when they should be showing their warmth. Marion Post (Gena Rowlands) is that kind of girl, except she's grown gracefully into middle-age, has been married for years, and has a job as a university administrator that satisfies her intellectual needs. She's content.Currently, she's writing a novel. Her apartment, however, is distracting, sometimes too noisy when she needs to be alone with her thoughts. She rents a small flat that fits her needs perfectly – or so it seems. After only a few minutes into her preparation, she discovers that a psychiatrist's office is next door, as she can hear every conversation through a noisy air vent in the middle of the living room. At first, she places pillows over the accidental speaker. But after accidentally overhearing a hysterical patient (Mia Farrow), Marion becomes fascinated. The exchange between the psychiatrist and his patient is interesting to say the least, but Marion finds it precariously relevant in her own life. As she begins eavesdropping on a regular basis, she finds herself reexamining every detail of her existence. It seems that her marriage, friendships, and familial ties are not as ideal as they seem.Woody Allen tries to plunge into the psychological depths of Bergman with Another Woman, but the film is frequently overwrought in its intellect, pretentious even. Allen has tried drama several times, more often than not with success. 1978's Interiors was stirring in its melancholy catharsis, and future endeavors, such as 2005's Match Point and 2014's Blue Jasmine, explored new territory with the same if not more accomplishment.Another Woman feels more like an experiment that could have been left as a novel or a short story. At only 81 minutes, it's somewhat abrupt. The ending lets us know that Marion is planning to change her life for the better, but how? Throughout the film, we see her cold shouldering nearly everyone on a regular basis – is she suddenly going to heat up her shoulder and hope for the best?It's a stupid question I pose, I know, but I think the real problem with the film is how controlled it feels. There is no danger. There is no looseness. It wants to be stark in its atmosphere, and it is, but if it's going to hold back emotional texture, there should be something to fill in for that gaping hole. Another Woman is like an exercise, not a film. It isn't bad in the traditional sense, but in comparison to Allen's other movies, it's a filler, a transition, if you will.There is plenty for the actors to do: Rowlands, who spent most of the '70s and '80s in her husband's (John Cassavetes) films, ties up her untamed hair and colorful wardrobe for a tight up-do and a bland turtleneck, giving one of her most affecting and impressive performances in the process. Hackman's longing desire is pungent, and Farrow is a force of gloominess in her few scenes. But even though Another Woman is well made and, at times, poignant, it doesn't have enough meat to make it any less than a forgettable exploration for one of cinema's greatest directors.

Gena Rowlands gives a marvelous performance as a woman coming face to face with her reality in "Another Woman," a 1988 Woody Allen film also starring Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Blythe Danner, John Housman,Sandy Dennis, Gene Hackman, Betty Buckley, Martha Plimpton, Gretchen Conroy, and Harris Yulin.Rowlands narrates as well as stars as Marion Post, a brilliant woman and expert in German literature who is on sabbatical from teaching to write a book. In order to accomplish this, she rents an apartment which happens to be right next to a therapist's office. The walls are then and her apartment and the therapist's office share a vent. Marion, in spite of herself, becomes very interested in the sessions of a young pregnant woman (Farrow) and starts to analyze herself. This leads to some shocking and painful realizations.With a cast like this, it's hard to miss, and Allen doesn't. This is a character study, and while the film moves slowly, it manages to keep one's attention.Allen does a beautiful job with this - Marion lives in a world where she hasn't allowed herself much real passion and feeling; therefore, he always has her dressed in gray."Another Woman" here actually has several meanings - Marion herself was another woman when she and her husband (Ian Holm) first met, as he was married; the Farrow character represents another woman; and Marion realizes that there is "another woman" inside her who hasn't quite emerged. There's one more "another woman," but that's all I'll say.Reminiscent of Bergman, Allen here has done an American take on him, so it just feels a little lighter than, say, "Autumn Sonata" (what doesn't?).Very special film about choices, regrets, aging, and hope.

Very much in the same vein as 1978's Interiors, Woody Allen returns to serious dramatic fashion with Another Woman, which like Interiors explores the inner workings and details that make up a family. In particular, this one focuses through the parameters of Marion, brilliantly played by Gena Rowlands as an icy cold woman who has managed for years to shield her true feelings and emotions from practically everyone close to her.Unfortunately, this begins to fall back into her lap as she talks with her step-daughter, husband and old friends and family who tell her that she is nearly impossible to communicate with and not very feeling. This comes as a shock to Marion and us; we don't notice it and how did this happen? Woody Allen is certainly one of the great comedic writer/director/actors of the last 50 years, but his serious dramatic turns are just as impressive. With the help of Ingmar Bergman's legendary cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Allen creates a mesmerizing canvas of dark, surreal colors and palates that give off a moody and depressing tone felt by all the characters, especially Marion. This is certainly a film only for true Woody Allen fans as it doesn't have any of his usual zany or self-depraved humor. Yet, what it does have is terrific performances by Rowland, Ian Holm, Mia Farrow and Gene Hackman as well as a solid script and direction by Allen. A must-see for any of his fans.