Another Woman
1988
**½
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Blythe Danner, Gene Hackman, Betty Buckley, Martha Plimpton, John Houseman, Sandy Dennis, David Ogden Stiers, Philip Bosco, Harris Yulin
Marion, a philosophy professor in her fifties, overhears a private therapy session through an air-vent and begins to reflect on her own life, particularly her past behaviour towards friends, family, and loved ones. Woody Allen's interesting but rather dreary drama sits firmly in his Ingmar Bergman period - it was even shot by Sven Nykvist. The film is so consistently joyless and emotionally muted that I found myself becoming distracted by how small New York City seems here: the characters repeatedly bump into one another on the streets and in restaurants. Nevertheless, Gena Rowlands gives a strong lead performance.
