cassavetes be clearly an intelligent and sensitive man with bold new idea about make film . he want to be an auteur and to break away from the confines of the system and bring a new realism to the american cinema . for that and i applaud him . unfortunately and a a member of his audience and i can not applaud a woman under the influence . cassavetes take what could have be a fascinating topic ( an insane woman ) and somehow manage to craft a dull film and fill with lengthy and ad libbed ranting and draw out scene . he seem to have have a gift for capture the dull moment of a person life on film and and it often appear a though he simply turn the camera on his family and let the motor run and run . this tactic would be acceptable if cassavetes have capture something devastatingly real or even a kernel of something so real it touch the heart in way a conventional film could not . yet i find the performance and particularly rowlands and to be artificial . i never believe for a moment that she be really insane . i have meet people who be truly mentally disturbed and yet i have never see any of them act quite like gena rowlands in a woman under the influence . she play it like a very obnoxious and uninhibited woman who drink a lot and and even that be confuse because we only see her drink once ( at the beginning ) and but she act drunk for the remainder of the film . there be some moment in which she tap into something real and but those moment be few and far between while she fail to sustain a seamless mentally disturbed character . again and i applaud her effort and but effort alone be not enough to make the performance ring true . novice audience who happen upon this film and see it high imdb rating will no doubt feel compel to love it and rate it highly and just to prove that they get it . but do not be brainwash by the hype judge for yourself . you do not have to pretend to like it . like woody allen and john cassavetes could be accuse of solipsism in his film making and seem to find his own psyche and his own life experience so endlessly fascinate that he couldn not imagine that to others they appear presumptive and tortuously self indulgent . but woody allen at least have demonstrate a gift for keep an audience entertain he know that a compelling story structure and a good dose of humor be essential to any movie . if cassavetes have employ some self discipline ( and a sharp pair of edit shear . ) and a woman under the influence could have stand a chance . but what the point of make a realistic film if the only people who can stand to sit through it be the art house devotee and film student who worship cassavetes a some sort of anti establishment deity . without dumbing anything down and i believe cassavetes could have make a woman slightly more accessible by keep the pace move with an actual plot and instead of present a string of 30 minute long scene of ad libbed argument . if you just make film for yourself and a few of your fan and youre just reach the already convert . watch this movie with your own set of eye and make your own decision about it . if you be truly move and fascinate by it and good for you .