The first half of
Another Woman (a loaded title if there ever was one, especially for Woody Allen) is a very gratifying look at the middle-aged life of Marion (Gena Rowlands), a philosophy professor whose intellectual priorities inspire both admiration and resentment from everyone she meets. Holed-up in a writing room next door to a psychiatrist's office, she can hear the intimate words of his patients--and like a random radio song, almost always these disembodied voices express, in Allen's words, "her inner turbulence." It's when we delve so deeply into Marion's past that only flashbacks can sufficiently illuminate her turmoil that
Another Woman becomes stagey and overindulgent, and while characters played by Gene Hackman and a pregnant Mia Farrow are integral to the film's conclusion, they seem underutilized throughout. In contrast, Harris Yulin leaves a strong impression in a tiny role as Marion's brother. The 1.85:1, 16x9-enhanced video transfer on MGM's DVD release of
Another Woman is given to 'screen door' artifacting, and bright backgrounds in general appear poorly compressed. Sven Nykvist's shadow-rich cinematography deserves better. The 2.0 mono mix is undistinguished, and I must confess to watching
Another Woman closed-captioned during the therapy sessions, as the sounds travelling through Marion's vent are all but inaudible to us. Extras include the theatrical trailer and the usual top-notch insert booklet.
-Bill Chambers