Customer Reviews

An Unmarried Woman

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first saw this movie with my mother when it was released theatrically. Because I was just 13 years old, some of the subject matter sailed right over my head, but I was still entranced by the film and cheered Erica on to find her own happy ending.

I have seen the film many times since, and it has become one of my all time favorite movies. Jill Clayburgh shines as Erica and brings such a believability to this role. You are right there with Erica as she revels in her comfortable Upper East Side life, as she walks around in a fog when her husband leaves, as she takes those tentative first steps into the world of dating, as she finds love once again, and ultimately, as she emerges as a woman who discovers who she is and is determined to face life and love on HER terms.

I think this is Paul Mazursky's best work. He was not afraid to explore his feminine side and write this film from a woman's point of view. Many of the themes brought up in the film, such as loss, self-esteem, and independence still ring true today and I am hard pressed to name a recent film that explores this territory as well.

On a purely aesthetic level, I would kill to have Erica's apartment. A spacious, tastefully decorated hi-rise apartment with stunning views of Manhattan...I would be in heaven. The movie gets a star alone for that location.

I own this movie. I never get tired of watching it. It's one of my absolute favorites. Jill Clayburgh gives a very believable performance. You truly think she wasn't just acting! But I do think the best character in this movie is Charlie (portrayed by Cliff Gorman). Mr. Gorman gives a terrific portrayal of a guy who is constantly "on the make." I don't think he got the credit he deserved for this performance. Believe it or not, I thought the "chemistry" was better between Gorman and Clayburgh, than Clayburgh and Alan Bates (he's the guy she eventually falls for). I don't know if this sort of picture would be able to fill a movie theatre today. But I do think it is "timeless" in showing what women go through in these situations (husband walking out, etc, etc.).

What I like about this film is that it leads the viewer through the heart-wrench and painful gutted sense of a woman who discovers her husband has been unfaithful, and then who goes through the slow process of making a life without him. You actually go through those feelings with the wife. One criticism is that it's a little bit hard to believe Jill Clayburgh, who's otherwise so sharp, could have put her WHOLE life into her dopey husband, since she appears college-educated and has worked part-time even through her marriage. Michael Murphy always plays kind of super-achiever but wishy-washy characters, and typically a woman he'd be involved with would have her own life anyway.

BEFORE SEX AND THE CITY HOLLYWOOD MADE A GREAT FILM IN THE ERA OF THE EQUAL RIGHT MOVEMENT! IN THIS MOVIE A WOMAN WHO WAS HAPPILY MARRIED FINDS HERSELF SINGLE AFTER HER HUSBAND HAS BEEN HAVING AN AFAIR! AFTER THE DIVORCE SHE DISCOVERS HERSELF AND FIGURES OUT WHAT HER NEEDS ARE!

is one of the best lines from this film. Always wonder how I would react should I run into my therapist out and about. Good story, does every husband go thru this midlife crisis, tearing his wife's heart out for something "better"? Glad she was able to get back out there and get her life going again. Alan Bates' eyes say more than words would allow. An actor that speaks volumes with his eyes and touches your heart. Great performances.

This is a difficult movie to evaluate. It combines a compelling look at the issues facing women in the early stages of divorce with a lot of dated 'seventies' material that will seem anachronistic to anyone under 40.

First the good news. Jill Clayburgh justifiably got an Oscar nomination for her portrayl of a mid 30's, upper middle class wife suddenly thrown into singlehood by her husband's decision to leave her for a younger woman. She's in virtually all scenes and the movie rests on her superb performance. About the only criticism I have is that this character is definitely an upper middle class Vassar grad, and so are the issues she faces. No sudden poverty when the bread winner departs and doesn't pay support for this gal.

Equally compelling (and accurate) are the scenes around the 'therapy' sessions. As a professional counselor, I can attest that these are some of the most accurate portrayls of what real therapy sessions are like, and credit must be given to the actresses involved!

Now the bad news. The movie is relentlessly '70's' in format, and did not age well. Allusions to the current issues and celebreties of the day (Jane Fonda?) rapidly date the material. Although it accurately portrays the fashions and the City of New York in the mid 1970's, younger viewers (e.g. anyone under 40) will likely be puzzled by some of the issues and the behaviours of the characters. This movie was made in an era when feminism was first moving out of the 'radical fringe' and starting to impact 'mainstream' society. Divorce was a hot topic, and attitudes towards casual sex still evolving in post-sexual revolution and pre-AIDS society. It makes some of the activities and characters in the movie hard to understand to anyone who hadn't lived in the era.

Contrary to most reviewers, I think the portrayl of the male characters is dead on, and accurately reflects many of the jerks, losers, and general flotsam and jetsam that single women in their 30' & 40's encounter. It probably strikes a nerve among some guys who see a reflection of their own attitudes and behaviors in the male characters. The feminist message may be a little to strident for some post-Regan era Republican types to stomach, but it accurately reflected the values of the times.

Overall, I recommend this movie. It's well acted, deals with real issues, and sends an empowering message to women survivors of marriage breakup. See it if you get a chance.

The outstanding memory of this film is the scenes of therapy. It is the actual therapist. She is wise. She nods. Eventually she asks a question. She appears to be listening. This is convayed by big nods and by small nods. There are also some medium nods. TV reporters use the same kind of nods. When an interview is finished they then record what they call the "noddies" to be interspersed with shots of the interviewee. Is there a message?

What strikes me most about this movie is how deeply it captures the period in which it was made. It is an absolute time capsule of the New York of the '70's.

It is the story of a woman who suddenly is abandoned by her husband after a long & what she believes to be a happy marriage.
First of all the shock, the pain,the therapy then a gradual getting it together...meeting new men,finding new love.

There is a sweetness,warmth and wit about this movie. It is well shot & is aided enormously by the superb soundtrack.

It has a sort of adult intelligence & warmth that would not be found in a contemporary film...it doesn't talk down to it's audience the way a contemporary movie starring the likes of Julia Roberts would. There was a sort of magic in American cinema in the 1970's & some of that magic has rubbed off on what could have been a shallow & trite tale which this surely is not.

Jill Clayburgh was nominated for an Oscar as the lead in this 1978 film. She didn't win but it pushed her into the "A" class for a few good years. It's interesting to witness Clayburgh's career rise and fall as symptomatic of the public's short love affair with actresses. She still can be seen in supporting roles and she is as good as she ever was - beautiful, funny, warm and tender - but she is probably unable to recapture those "A" bankable heydays. As Erica, a woman who's husband leaves her for a younger woman, Pauline Kael describes her having an "addled radiance with a floating not-quite-sure not-quite-here quality". Clayburgh is memorable wearing a high-collared tan Albert Wolsky coat with a snarl on her face that is both funny and real when she is told the news of the infidelity. Written and directed by Paul Mazursky and burdened with an annoying Rocky-esque score by Bill Conti, the film has a few slow improvisational spots but is generally likeable. Ironically, as it raised Clayburgh's profile, it also was the peak for Mazursky, after films like Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, Blume in Love and Next Stop, Greenwich Village in the early 70's. The only later film to match them is Enemies, A Love Story made in 1989. The film was also a mainstream breakthrough for Alan Bates who here wears a beard and is hunkily gorgeous as Erica's love interest. His rapport with Clayburgh seems genuine and the film improves once he appears half way through. At the time it was released, Mazursky's feminist end was criticised for having Erica turn down Bates' request to go away with her since Bates is presented as irresistible. Kael thought the only way to balance Erica's "idiotic" decision would be to reveal Bates' character as a fraud. You decide.

I was fortunate to be able to see this movie on the big screen when it came out over 20 years ago. This movie made Jill Clayburgh and Alan Bates two of my favorite actors all these years. Jill Clayburgh just lights up the screen. Her acting appears 100% natural. She is a true star.