While it’s never explicitly diagnosed,Mabel’s unpredictable mood swings suggest that she suffers from bipolar disorder.
“Im so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”
Their creative and personal kinship is evident in the palpable humanity emanating from the screen inWoman Under the Influence.
Image Via Faces Distribution
Cassavetes laces the film with a true affection towards this community and its inhabitants that keeps the film humane.
Because she blesses the screen with a great range of vulnerability, her manic episodes carry a tragic undertone.
She engages in these dramatic tendencies because she’s self-conscious about appearing pleasant and well-meaning around others.
Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.
However, her apprehensive and reserved state suggests something abnormal.
What makesA Woman Under the Influencesuch apositive affirmation of mental healthis its lack of judgment of its main character.
She inhabits her character with enough radiant warmth to seep through the screen.
A Woman Under the Influenceis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
Watch on Max
Image Via Faces Distribution
Image via Faces Distribution
