Directed by:
Paul MazurskyScreenplay:
Paul MazurskyCinematography:
Arthur J. OrnitzComposer:
Bill ContiCast:
Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman, Patricia Quinn, Kelly Bishop, Linda Miller, Raymond J. Barry, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker (more)Plots(1)
One woman’s journey of self-discovery brings about a warmly human cultural conversation about female liberation, in this wonderfully frank, funny chronicle of changing 1970s sexual politics by Paul Mazursky. When her husband of sixteen years abruptly leaves her for a younger woman, Manhattan gallery worker Erica (a fantastic, Oscar-nominated Jill Clayburgh in her defining role) finds herself alone and adrift—but also newly empowered to explore her needs and desires as she tests the waters of a new relationship with a charismatic artist (Alan Bates). Candidly addressing issues of sex, intimacy, loneliness, and divorce from an unabashedly feminist perspective, An Unmarried Woman makes the simple but radical assertion that a woman’s most important relationship is the one she has with herself. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (1)
Considering that it is a critically acclaimed film that received a few Oscar nominations and other festival laurels at its time, Mazurský's film seemed very unremarkable to me. It was both too long and, compared to what I have witnessed in real life, it essentially feels like an idyll. The main protagonist doesn't face any serious social problems, and isn't involved in tumultuous divorce disputes, or arguments over property and childrearing; she keeps her apartment and her husband supports her financially. The only real problem is her sex life, which, as is customary in America, she discusses with her psychologist. But even here, she manages to recover remarkably quickly. It's a typically shallow American treatment of a serious subject, which usually has, in my opinion, a much more arduous course and more serious consequences. Overall impression: 50%.
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