A Woman Under The Influence

The next film in the John Cassavetes box set was the 1974 A Woman Under The Influence with breakout performances by the two leads Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. It's an unsettling film about a family that is dealing with several issues related to the raising of the family with a mother who has mental health issues and a rough working class father who is prone to his own particular flights of fancy. There's no definitive statement, but like most good films it ends on a note of hope without resolving much in the way of the conflicts that plague the married couple. The Criterion special features include: an interview with Cassavetes from a "Filmmakers Newsletter" from 1975, an essay "The War At Home" by critic Kent Jones from 2004, an audio commentary by sound recordist and composer Bo Harwood and camera operator Mike Ferris, conversations between actors Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk from 2004, an audio interview with Cassavetes from 1975, stills gallery, and trailer.