A Woman Under the Influence

film by Cassavetes [1974]

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July 16, 2026

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"A Woman Under the Influence" is a 1974 film directed by John Cassavetes. It is a raw and harrowing portrayal of a Los Angeles housewife experiencing a nervous breakdown. Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes's wife, starred in the film, earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance as the central character. The film was Cassavetes's biggest hit up to that point and earned him his only Academy Award nomination for best director. It is considered a significant work in independent filmmaking.12

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- John Cassavetes
  Independent filmmaker: 1960s and ’70s
  …Cassavetes returned to psychodrama with A Woman Under the Influence (1974), a harrowing, unrelievedly raw portrait of a Los Angeles housewife’s nervous breakdown. Although the story was originally intended as a stage vehicle for Rowlands, it was brought to the screen instead by Cassavetes’s newly formed Faces International production company.…
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  …Cassavetes returned to psychodrama with A Woman Under the Influence (1974), a harrowing, unrelievedly raw portrait of a Los Angeles housewife’s nervous breakdown. Although the story was originally intended as a stage vehicle for Rowlands, it was brought to the screen instead by Cassavetes’s newly formed Faces International production company.…
  Read More