Reminiscent of Bergman's WILD STRAWBERRIES, ANOTHER WOMAN tells the story of a
professor who is in her 50's and beginning to reexamine her life. Taking a
leave of absence from work to write a book, she rents an apartment next door to
a psychiatrist's office, but soon discovers that through some "
acoustical oddness" she can hear all of the patients quite clearly. She tries to ignore
them, but one patient in particular (Mia Farrow) captures her attention and
brings back sad memories from her own past. Failed relationships,
estranged siblings and parents, her decision to not have children, her current
dead end marriage to Ian Holm which began with him cheating on his wife with
her, her turning down a suitor (Gene Hackman) who was clearly in love with
her.
Needless to say, ANOTHER WOMAN is not a happy film. It's not as depressing
as Allen's last film,
SEPTEMBER, but it's no walk in the park either. Intimate photography by Sven
Nykvist, a steady pace, strong performances by a great cast, interesting
story. ANOTHER WOMAN has a lot of the ingredients to make an outstanding
film, but for some odd reason it just falls into the "above average"
category. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it just doesn't have that
magic spark to it. Still, it's 100% worth watching.
