Another Woman (1988)
“Another Woman” is a movie about a woman named Marion. Marion lives in an apartment where she is currently working on her book. She then realizes that she can hear her neighbor who is a psychiatrist. Marion becomes interested in one of his patients, which her name is never given. The woman talks about her emotional issues, which made Marion reevaluate the life she feels she wasted. She realized that she became completely distant from everyone she knew, especially her friends and family, and maybe she even lost her one true love.
When Marion rents an apartment to work on her latest book, by accident she hears all conversations from the psychiatrist office. At first, she tries to bloc the sound, but she decides to listen in after hearing a young pregnant woman talking about her struggles. Marion was asleep when she heard that young woman speaking, and it made me think maybe she’s just dreaming or imagining hearing that woman. From there, the viewers see a different side of Marion. She not only reevaluates her life, but she also takes the viewers back to her past through camera work. An example of that would be, when She was talking to her first husband. We see her as a young woman, she never truly discusses or tells the viewers her story, she only takes them to it. Another example would be where she saw her husband and her old friend on a stage talking about what seemed to be her life. Then the pregnant woman passes by her and they don’t meet. It is as if she only exists in Marion’s head. Or maybe she is Marion.
When Marion and the pregnant woman finally meet, the camera captures them from distance, and we can see how similar the two women are. The way they dress, act, and their lives are kind of similar. They then go to a restaurant to eat, and the camera only captured Marion in that scene. The viewers know that she’s with the pregnant woman, but the camera didn’t capture both of them at the same time. Then the camera shows us Marion in her house. Marion seemed like a strong woman at first, and very confident. And after meeting the pregnant woman and being confronted by her old friend about her previous actions. She clearly was affected by it. Her emotions were consistent with her behavior. She truly seemed as if she regretted not having kids and being the person that she is today.
Marion takes the viewers back to her life, and whenever we see her past, the camera instantly shows us a different scene of her life. I couldn’t even know if I was still watching Marian’s past life or her current life. Everyone in this film seemed intimidated by her intelligence. According to Roger Ebert, “She will discover that she intimidates people and that they do not love her as much as she thinks, nor trust her to share their secrets.” However, she was loved by men. She seemed as if she didn’t have anyone close. Even though she was married, she seemed alone and distant from her husband. She wasn’t close to her stepdaughter either and she even says it at some point. She had some issues with her brother, and she seemed as if she wanted to make things right with him. When Marion goes to see the next-door psychiatrist, he tells her the pregnant woman just disappeared. The camera never showed the two of them in one frame, they also looked very similar. It also appeared to me that Marion only sees her and hears her when she thinks about her past life. From there, I began to think that the woman is only in Marian’s head. or maybe she’s Marion. The movie never clarifies that to us; however, it is indicated though camera work.
In the end, this movie can truly be related to life. Marion always put her career first and wanted to be successful. She got to the point where that all didn’t matter to her anymore. She realized she made mistakes and is not going to have to deal with them.
References
-https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/another-woman-1988
-http://www.woodyallenpages.com/films/another-woman/
-https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/another-woman-1988
-http://www.woodyallenpages.com/films/another-woman/