Subtle pro-Life message in 1988 movie, "Another Woman"

[WilliamOK]

“Another Woman” is one of Woody Allen’s serious movies, so it is not the comedy which he is known for. It is an imperfect, but really good movie if you are in the mood for something introspective. I just watched it online. If you have Amazon prime it is free to stream online from their website.

The story is basically about an intellectual woman who re-evaluates her life during a sort of mid-life crisis, where she realizes she traded away many things for her success in the academic field, things that she now regrets and that have distanced her from the people closest to her. It is mentioned in passing, but is a powerful scene, where it comes out that one of her regrets is that she had an abortion as a young woman. She thought she would have children later, but she never got around to it.

It’s not a very famous movie, but it has a lot of famous people in it and is really very well done. Stars in it include: Mia Farrow, Gene Hackman (he is perfect in this film!), Sandy Dennis, and Gena Rowlands as the lead character is truly excellent as well.

Heavy topics are dealt with, including the pain of betrayal in adultery, so this is not a G movie, but I would say the depiction of sin and selfishness is appropriate, and the statement conveyed is that these things are definitely not the road to happiness. The film has a hopeful ending. If you like “art house” type films, or think you might be in the mood for one sometime, put this one on your list!

 

[meltzerboy]

“Another Woman” is one of Woody Allen’s serious movies, so it is not the comedy which he is known for. It is an imperfect, but really good movie if you are in the mood for something introspective. I just watched it online. If you have Amazon prime it is free to stream online from their website.

The story is basically about an intellectual woman who re-evaluates her life during a sort of mid-life crisis, where she realizes she traded away many things for her success in the academic field, things that she now regrets and that have distanced her from the people closest to her. It is mentioned in passing, but is a powerful scene, where it comes out that one of her regrets is that she had an abortion as a young woman. She thought she would have children later, but she never got around to it.

It’s not a very famous movie, but it has a lot of famous people in it and is really very well done. Stars in it include: Mia Farrow, Gene Hackman (he is perfect in this film!), Sandy Dennis, and Gena Rowlands as the lead character is truly excellent as well.

Heavy topics are dealt with, including the pain of betrayal in adultery, so this is not a G movie, but I would say the depiction of sin and selfishness is appropriate, and the statement conveyed is that these things are definitely not the road to happiness. The film has a hopeful ending. If you like “art house” type films, or think you might be in the mood for one sometime, put this one on your list!

I distinctly recall seeing this movie in the theater when it came out. I totally agree with your appraisal of it: the acting is excellent, as are the several important themes, and the direction. Wasn’t there a dream sequence that involved a panther? For some reason, it never caught on as one of Woody Allen’s best films, but I think it is.

 

[WilliamOK]

I distinctly recall seeing this movie in the theater when it came out. I totally agree with your appraisal of it: the acting is excellent, as are the several important themes, and the direction. Wasn’t there a dream sequence that involved a panther? For some reason, it never caught on as one of Woody Allen’s best films, but I think it is.

Yes! There were several dream sequences interwoven toward the end of the movie, and one of them was of a black panther in a cage, which came from symbolism from the poem Gena Rowland’s character alludes to, The Panther by the German poet Rilke. That part actually is a little over my head. I looked up the allusion, but I still don’t know if I get it or not. They say this kind of thing is evidence of Woody Allen being more of an intellectual than he usually let on. But I liked the movie just on more of an aesthetic level, I just don’t have the background to appreciate all of it, but I think the movie’s made in such a way that you don’t have to understand it all, it communicates well just on an aesthetic level (I think).

The thing that really got to me was the scene when she overhears the young unnamed pregnant woman speaking about “this sad woman” she met, meaning Gena Rowland’s character Marion. The young woman’s remarks about how successful Marion is in her professional life, but how lost she is inside, and how afraid she is of real emotion, and how she thought that was her motivation for the abortion because she was afraid of the feelings she might have had for the baby. Well, anyway, that I thought was really insightful, and actually kind of a brave thing to say in a Hollywood film. I think there are a lot of really good aspects of the film (and a few faults in the film as well), but that was what stood out for me.