Halima Brown
Ryan George
English 15
1 August 2017
A Woman Under the Influence
She looks at him deeply, with all the love in the world, he knows she has a problem which can be to live with difficult at times, but despite all her problems he still loves her. She is a loving wife and caring mother and as free as a bird. This is the kind of character that Gena Rowlands plays in the movie, A Woman Under the Influence. The film tells the story of a suburban housewife and her family’s struggle to save her from herself. Gena Rowlands starred as a mentally ill housewife, Mabel Longhetti and Peter Falk, who plays her husband Nick Longhetti. The couple experiences their share of ups and downs throughout their relationship,
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Cassavetes explores the effects of mental illness and how it impacts the life of the mentally ill and the family. Cassavetes allows people to see Mabel Longhetti’s character for the person she is , and not just her illness. He explored topics that was real, but not yet seen on the big screen during that time. This film also expresses ideas of feminism, and emotional abuse. As for Nick Longhetti’s character in the film, the viewers can see he is to plagued by struggles within himself. Like any man Nick Longhetti is not perfect, throughout the movie he makes mistakes and acknowledges that through his actions. Initially, he may sometimes come off as the villain of the film, but on the contrary, Nick is one of the biggest pieces in keeping his family together. During the absence of his wife, Nick Longhetti is forced to raise three children on his own. His character is faced with the realization of facts that he in a way has become out of touch with his wife and his children. Peter Falk does an excellent job in portraying Nick Longhetti’s character as a loving husband. His performance was natural, and extremely