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Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Blythe Danner, Gene Hackman ... see more see more... , Betty Buckley , Martha Plimpton , John Houseman , Sandy Dennis , David Ogden Stiers , Philip Bosco , Harris Yulin , Frances Conroy , Bruce Jay Friedman , Kathryn Grody , Josh Hamilton , Dana Ivey , Michael Kirby , Jacques Levy , Stephen Mailer , Fred Melamed , Alice Spivak , Kenneth Welsh , Bernie Leighton , Heather Sullivan , Jack Gelber

Grad-school administrative head Marion Post (Gena Rowlands) is in the midst of writing a book. The walls are thin in the apartment she's taken for work purposes, and soon Marion begins listening to th... read more read more...e sessions conducted by her neighbor, an analyst. One of the patients is Hope (Mia Farrow), whose marriage is in tatters. As Hope prattles on, Marion begins flashing back to highlights (and lowlights) of her own marriage. Her musings are constantly interrupted by the memory of the man (Gene Hackman) she'd once ardently loved. Later on, chance encounters with old friends force Marion to face the fact that she has lived her life sheltering herself from her true emotions. Director Woody Allen's career-long indebtedness to Ingmar Bergman is underlined in Another Woman via Bergman's frequent cinematographer Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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5,038 ratings

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20 critics

PG, 1 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Jerome Foulon, Woody Allen

Release Date: October 14, 1988

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

Stats: 267 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (267)

  • JonathanHutchings
    November 5, 2011
    JonathanHutchings
    It's no secret that Woody Allen idolized Bergman (which shouldn't come as much of a shock, since lots of people, myself included, share the same sentiment). He has tried, with mixed results, to make a true homage to the legend with Interiors and September, but with Another Woman,... read more he finally made a film that not only hits the examining, existential notes that Bergman hit routinely, but one that remarkably feels like a Woody Allen film in terms of its incredibly astute screenplay and beautiful staging.

    Some have called Another Woman a Wild Strawberries remake, but I would argue that it isn't a remake as much as it is a reimagining, or more to the point, a "repurposing" of the Bergman classic. It is a story of a university professor, played SPECTACULARLY by Gena Rowlands, in whom something stirs when she overhears a therapy session with a young 30-something woman who is discontent with her life. The professor, Marion, feels an emptiness rise inside her -- an emptiness that had settled there years before, that she can consciously feel now. Little by little, like in Interiors but better plotted in Wild Strawberries, the world she has constructed for herself, a cold, cerebral world, deconstructs.

    Marion despairs, enters into conflicts with herself, and questions endlessly trying to reason her way out of her malaise. But the cure for her malaise is not rational resolution and she, realizing that her strongest characteristic (namely her rational intelligence) is not enough to untangle what worries her, finds herself entirely helpless in the face of an unraveling existence.

    Her drama is very much like the drama of Professor Isak Borg from Bergman's film, a man on his way to receive a medal for his lifetime achievements. And, on the road, he also succumbs to the same malaise as Marion, the same questioning and the same painful re-evaluation. The horror shared by both Marion and Professor Borg, of course, is that despite their highly lauded accomplishments and their intellectual self-satisfaction, they feel a void. There must, in other words, be something else to life than strictly intellectual work, however satisfying it may be.

    Another Woman is a testament to the fact that Woody Allen was still at the top of his game in the late 80s. It is a brilliant, honest and perceptive film. It makes one wonder how different Bergman's films would have been if he didn't dismiss the visual sophistication that Allen spent most of his early career developing.

    In addressing the criticism of Another Woman, sure, a few beats feel contrived and forceful, but considering the heavy questions being posed, and the unrelenting commitment that Allen has to the material, this film had plenty of opportunities to fall flat on its face, and to its credit, it never does. In fact, it excels thanks to a fantastic script, brilliant performances, and a wise small dose of visual styling. This is Woody Allen at the height of his powers.
  • blkbomb
    August 18, 2011
    blkbomb
    Marion: I wondered if a memory is something you have or something you've lost. 

    Another Woman is my least liked film from Woody Allen that I have seen. I found nothing to take away from it. It felt very much like a Woody Allen movie; just not as good of one. It had aspects that ... read morecould make a great movie and already had. The plot borrows from Bergman's Wild Strawberries. The movie is extremely short and by the end it feels likes it feels never got going.

    From Allen, this just doesn't seem right. It feels like he had no great ideas that and year, but since he has to put a movie out annually, he just threw one together. I'm sure that's not accurate. I'm sure Allen probably liked what he had here and worked hard at making a great film out of it. 

    I'm still a big fan of Allen's work for the most part and that's probably why I'm disappointed with Another Woman. The cast is there and is pretty good. Allen's normal subject matter is there. But the movie never seems to be entirely there. It's like something was lost. Oh well, I guess I will just have to watch Hannah and Her Sister again to renew my faith in watching another Woody Allen movie.
  • jennifxu
    May 25, 2008
    jennifxu
    Using Erik Satie's Gynompedie No. 1 was the perfect touch to the melancholic longings of Marion Post's character. I usually hate repetitive themes but this one jibed quite well for me. It was no means a perfect film but the out-of-sequence scenes reminded me of Deconstructing Har... read morery, Manhattan, and Husbands and Wives at at once. The jagged edge of cynicism never pierced too hard but was tempered to a constant dull hum. Woody has improved at this drama technique over the years. Many hate the smörgÃ¥sbord of themes constantly clashing in Woody's films but I love that each film reminds me of another yet remains so disparate.
  • tsigur
    February 20, 2008
    tsigur
    Gena Rowlands drew me to this film, but then I found out how great depressed Woody is.
  • fb20312798
    February 17, 2010
    fb20312798
    An underrated little gem from Woody Allen. For as much as the film is about regret I found it strangely hopeful. Gena Rowlands performance is quite remarkable, she communicates volumes with a gesture or an expression. Allen is known for comedy, but he crafts small quiet dramas ve... read morery well.
  • zeravenyoej
    December 2, 2008
    zeravenyoej
    Interesting, subtle Allen film. It strikes a somber, emotionally rich tone (which is ironic, given that the character does not allow herself to feel emotions). This is supposed to be an homage to Allen's idol Bergman.
  • thirdway821
    August 14, 2011
    thirdway821
    One of the coldest Woody Allen pictures I have seen. Gena Rowlands is very good and portrays her character as someone who thought everyone likes her but deep down does not. There is a scene where the Rowlands characters is disliked by her former best friend because she happened t... read moreo steal away a boyfriend from her best friend Claire (Sandy Dennis). Is disliked by her brother Paul (Harris Yulin), is in a cold lifeless marriage with her husband since her husband is having an affair and seems to enjoy taking advantage of his wife. In the past the Rowlands character had an affair with her teacher and got pregnant by him. They quarrel due to the fact that the Rowlands character is not ready to raise a child while the teacher wants to raise the baby. Years later she regrets having an abortion and is left miserable. The Rowland's character also gets involve with a man she should have been married to but married the wrong guy and evasedrops on a conversation as a woman tells her personal story next door.

    All of these turn of events become darker and darker but it is evident Woody Allen has based his picture on a recent Ingmar Bergman film called "Wild Strawberries". I guess "Another Woman" is an homage but I was deeply involved with the characters especially the main character played by Gena Rowlands who in retrospect, gets a hard dose of cold reality and decides that she must turn her life around for the better of her own sake.
  • bcavros
    September 11, 2010
    bcavros
    Gena Rolands really exemplifies a desirable intelligent 50 year old woman. Several event cause a cascade of memories of defining moments in her life. She looks through her mothers pictures after she passes away. She has an unsettling run in with her childhood best friend. Lastly ... read moreshe overhears a very pregnant Mia Farrow?s sessions with here psychoanalyst. As a extremely focused and driven professor of philosophy she has little time for indulging the frivolous or messy parts of life. Solid intellectual entertainment from some of the best 1980?s actors. In the end it plays more like a stage play than a movie. A whole lot of talking and watching people interact but no real soul. If you really enjoy plays this is probably a great pick
  • SunilJawahir
    March 9, 2009
    SunilJawahir
    Just okay.
  • evilralphwiggum
    May 19, 2012
    evilralphwiggum
    It's a dramatic Woody Allen film and it's a pretty good one too. It's interesting how listening to someone else's therapy can be therapeutic to the listener. It's not one of his best, but there are some good things to get out of it.

View All Another Woman Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
March 23, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Film that emerges is brave, in many ways fascinating, and in all respects of a caliber rarely seen. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
March 23, 2009
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

A piece of posturing phoniness designed to awe spectators who like their psychodramas third-hand and upscale. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Mr. Allen is becoming an immensely sophisticated director, but this screenplay is in need of a merciless literary editor. Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

The storytelling is fluid and dramatic -- almost theatrical -- the film glows with light and the design is economically artful. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Once again, Allen has mistaken unfunny for serious, feeling the breath of immortality on his shoulder. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Film is the most voyeuristic medium, but rarely have I experienced this fact more sharply than while watching Woody Allen's Another Woman. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 18, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Though not one of Woody Allen's strongest films, this Bergman-like psychological melodrama is too self-conscious and contrived, but the cast, headed by Gena Rowlands and Gene Hackman, is good. Full Review

March 23, 2009
Film4

Superbly written and directed by a film-maker at the peak of his creative power, and with a sublime performance by Rowlands to match, this film has not a joke in sight. Full Review

March 23, 2009
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Nykvist's photography is impeccable, as is Loquasto's spare production design. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Rowlands' perfectly pitched approach to a demanding role is particularly stunning. Full Review

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Another Woman Trivia

  • In When Harry Met Sally..., there is a famous scene in which Meg Ryan fakes an orgasm in a diner. Immediately afterwards, another woman says, "I'll have what she's having." Whose real-life mother says this line?  Answer »
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  • Catherine Zeta-Jones's singing voice was dubbed by another woman in "Chicago". True or false?  Answer »
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