Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 5 nominations.
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
The most frightening scenes are extremely compelling, and this is a thoughtful film that does prompt serious discussion.
– Nora Sayre,
New York Times,
9 May 2005
fresh:
Falk and the rest of the cast are exceptional -- even the smallest roles feel spot-on -- but Rowlands is the film.
– Tim Grierson,
Village Voice,
20 Oct 2009
fresh:
Watching 35 years later, you're struck by its forward sense of therapeutic misfortune.
– Joshua Rothkopf,
Time Out New York,
21 Oct 2009
fresh:
Falk and Rowlands -- in performances of almost indescribable intensity -- detail a marriage anchored by love, but tossed by the expectations of others and the unpredictable swell of madness.
– Keith Phipps,
AV Club,
29 Mar 2011
fresh:
The primal violence that binds men and woman has rarely been evoked as plausibly or intensely as in this 1974 drama.