Another Woman (1988)

4 Stars (out of 4)

Hope Quest

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

During a prolific period of fantastic works in the 1980s, Woody Allen took time out for two of his "serious" projects, which, generally, were received with less enthusiasm. Yet Another Woman — which I rewatched after the death of Gene Hackman — is really an excellent film. Gena Rowlands plays Marion Post, the head of a university department of philosophy. She's about as buttoned-up as you can get, fifty, intelligent and on-track, the epitome of the I Know Where I'm Going! kind of woman. Taking a sabbatical to write a book, she rents an office. Strangely, through the ventilation system, she can clearly hear a therapy session taking place. She listens to the voice of Hope (Mia Farrow), who is feeling empty. Strangely, her words begin to affect Marion and she realizes, to her surprise, that she feels the same way. She begins to re-assess her relationships, with her husband (Ian Holm), her stepdaughter (Martha Plimpton), her best friend (Sandy Dennis), and others. She also realizes that Larry (Hackman), whom she once turned down, is indeed the "one that got away." Allen handles all this with supreme emotional intelligence, elegance, and grace, aided by superb cinematography by Sven Nykvist, a veteran of Ingmar Bergman. Another Woman is said to be loosely inspired by Bergman's Wild Strawberries, but, in the end, it is its own thing, reassuring us that it's never too late for a second act.