To say marriage is difficult and imperfect would be an understatement, especially in the case of Mabel and Nick Longhetti. John Cassavetes’ film that centers around the married couple illustrates the toxicity of unhealthy relationships, and in doing so, reveals the surfacing of mental illness that may very well be an inevitable result of such chaos.
“A Woman Under the Influence” peers into the lives of the Longhetti family–Mabel, Nick, and their three elementary aged children, though halfway through you almost wish you hadn’t been given the opportunity to do so. Housewife Mabel is the first to be introduced as the “crazy” one in the family, constantly seeking approval from her husband (and everyone else) while also looking for any form of direction to be a certain way; she even tells him “Tell me what to be…I’ll be anything you want.” As we see Mabel’s layers unfold, we not only get a glimpse of her personality confusion, but we also witness her wide spectrum of emotions in a very short period of time. Cassavetes does a fine job at highlighting his own polarity of emotions through his mirrored character Mabel, as Ray Carney states of his character production in his review of the film.
Although Mabel is perhaps made to be the crazy one of the film as she is the only one who is submitted at a mental institution for six months, you can’t help but wonder if her husband lacks just as much sanity as she does. During the release of the 1974 film, Nora Sayre wrote her own critical piece in the New York Times and touched on the subject stating, “But—perhaps unintentionally—[Cassavetes] has made the man appear much crazier than his wife; are we supposed to assume that his frantic nature has driven her over the edge? Or are we meant to see madness as contagious?” While Mabel is gone for six months, she is nowhere to be seen in the film, leaving Nick’s mania to puncture through his seemingly thick skin resulting in turbulent behavior aimed at the world around him, including his own children.
At last, Mabel returns and has obviously suffered sufficient trauma in order to suppress all of her emotions we had been exposed to before. Frustrated, Nick yells at her, answering her earlier question– “JUST BE YOURSELF” but once she does so, he makes matters worse by confusing her and viciously telling her to tone it down. As the film comes to a close, all hell breaks loose during another one of Mabel’s breakdowns. Nick knocks her off the couch with one painfully loud slap to the face and the kids circle around their limp mother on the ground with growing concern for her life. Just as quick as the chaos erupted, it dissipated into thin air while the camera pans to the couple tucking their kids into bed, washing the blood off in the sink, and smiling at each other as they pull the bed out of the couch to get ready for a full night of rest.
The seventies were undoubtedly a time of progression in terms of social issues. In addition, film producers and directors were taking bold risks for film development. For this reason, it would seem likely that there would be great interest in the film, but due to its unconventional plot and intensity, studios didn’t want to invest in a film about a middle aged crazy woman. That didn’t stop Cassavetes however; he took it upon himself to start the conversation about women’s rights and mental illness through his film by taking out a mortgage on his film and getting friends to help finance the film during production.
“No, because I don’t think it’s about that. I’m half crazy myself, and I think almost everyone is verging on some kind of insanity. I believe very strongly that all women who are married for any length of time—and if they love their husbands—they don’t have any place to put their emotions, and that can drive them crazy … This particular woman, I don’t think she’s crazy … I think she’s just frustrated beyond belief. More than being crazy, I think she’s just socially inept.” -John Cassavetes when asked if he did any research into mental illness
The studios weren’t only disinterested in the project, but they refused to distribute it when it was finally finished. This was only a small obstacle for Cassavetes–naturally, he personally called movie theaters and did Q&A sessions on college campuses which led the film to be one of the first films to be successfully distributed in cinematic history.
Thankfully the art cinema film was eventually released, and women during that time finally had in imperfect someone they could relate to, our socially inept people pleaser Mabel.
Hello Ivy,
This film was hard to watch. I like how you show that it’s maybe not only Mabel with the mental health issues but her husband Nick as well. I like how you interspersed the pictures within your writing. The emotions on their faces make your writing more solid.
Hi Ivy,
Like you, I was interested by the premise of this film, though I did not choose it in the end. It is quite interesting to learn of how adamant studios were at the time to reject a film solely because it challenged preconceived notions about mental illness, though I suppose it is not all that surprising given how terrified Hollywood tends to be when it comes to taking chances. I very much enjoyed how you tore down these archaic studio beliefs, and would like to insert that kind of passion into my further works.
Hey,
I chose this film as well, but I like your description of it better. I like how you pointed out that maybe Mabel isn’t as crazy as we think she is. Maybe she is just frustrated and driven crazy by her husband’s madness. I like the pictures you used because the emotion on their faces show how tense and chaotic their relationship is.
I agree that marriage is incredibly difficult, requiring levels of compromise that not everyone, especially people in earlier times, were willing to offer up. I have never seen this film, but your description is compelling. The scene depicted wherein the husband strikes his wife, and then they are later seen acting as though nothing ever happened is saddening. I liked the way you wrote your essay. It encompasses feeling and analysis quite well.