from actor and independent writer or director john cassavetes and a woman under the influence give the viewer a look at a work class family with a problem of mental instability . the husband and nick ( play by peter falk ) be a blue collar worker who have trouble show his wife and mabel ( play by gena rowlands ) the amount of attention that she deserve . from the onset of the film and it be obvious that mabel be very quirky and strange and but only a few minute later it be clear that she be much more than that . crazy . bonkers . out of her damn mind . nick try his hardest to hide this from his co worker and and after she have a particularly strange incident at dinner and he ask her if she will be okay and a if he try to deny mabel illness . her problem only spiral from there . i do find some particular problem with this film . i guess these problem be mostly present in the story and and the way some of the character act toward the end . mabel have be commit and because and frankly and she nuts . then and six month later and she ready to come out of the hospital and and her husband throw a party to welcome her back . he never act stupid in the beginning of the movie . why would he invite all these people and some of them stranger to mabel and over to his house when his wife be in such a fragile state . it simply idiotic . later and after mabel come in the house and mabel father have a huge outburst at nick and scream at the top of his lung about not want to eat spaghetti . his daughter have just get back from six month of rehabilitation and and the thing you want to do be keep her calm and and he go nuts over spaghetti . a few minute later in the film and nick brings mabel into the stairwell and force her to do the thing she do when she be mentally unstable while make her weird noise and gesture . didn not he send her there to make her good and not do those thing . there be various other part that occur after this and but it would just be redundant to look at them in more detail . i guess i just have a serious problem with the decision by cassavetes to have his character act in this way . it simply do not make sense . however and although i have problem with the end of the film and there be one aspect that really redeem it while the acting . gena rowlands play an amazing crazy woman . there be time when i forget she be act and where i get so catch up in her wild gesticulation and crazy talk that i be actually scar of her . she be amazingly convincing and intense . however and i be also impress by the rest of mabel family . peter falk play a very strange character and and i almost thought he be crazy himself and because of the awkward way he handle his child and his job and and especially the situation with his wife . i also usually do not appreciate child actor . but the young people who play nick and mabel child in this film be phenomenal . it really felt like they be mabel child and because they seem so attached to her and be so interesting in help her with her problem . i think their performance be one of the thing that keep this film together and and without them it would have make the film less realistic and less intense . in general i wasn not impress by this film . the story be jumble and unclear and and the character act in way that make me wonder who wasn not insane in the movie . the only save grace be brilliant lead act role of the longhetti family . their realistic dialogue and powerful act keep the film together and and be probably the only reason the film have ever amount to anything .