"A woman of today, her world, her passions."
Director: John Cassavetes
Cast: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes
A Woman Under the Influence — Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Tell me what you want me to be! I can be anything! I can be anything you want me to be!
Context
Mabel screams this during a desperate confrontation with Nick as she tries to avoid being sent away.
Meaning
Highlights the total loss of self-identity that Mabel feels in her marriage, viewing her personality as something that should be molded by her husband's desires.
Mabel's not crazy, she's unusual. She's not crazy, so don't say she's crazy.
Context
Nick tells this to his construction crew friends early in the film to set the tone for their interaction with her.
Meaning
Demonstrates Nick's fierce loyalty and his defensive denial of the reality of Mabel's mental state.
Die! Die for me! Die for your father!
Context
Mabel encourages her children to play-act death to the music of Swan Lake during a frantic afternoon.
Meaning
A disturbing moment where Mabel uses the metaphor of the dying swan to express her own emotional exhaustion to her children.
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