A Woman Under the Influence is a 1974 American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. Rowlands plays a housewife whose unusual behavior leads to conflict with her blue-collar husband (Falk) and family.

Plot

Mabel Longhetti, a Los Angeles housewife and mother, sends her three children, Tony, Angelo and Maria, to spend the night with her mother but is extremely hesitant to do so. She is a heavy drinker and exhibits strange behavior. An unexpected pipe leak forces her husband, Nick, a construction foreman, to cancel their date night over the phone, and Mabel is devastated. That night, drunk, she meets a man at a bar, Garson, who offers her some more drinks, and then he takes her home almost passed out. Despite her protests, he forces her to dance with him and appears to sexually assault her at the bottom of the stairs, while she hits him with her handbag.

Awards