Another Woman (1988)

A philosophy professor (Gena Rowlands) is in a seemingly happy marriage but a chance encounter with a troubled stranger (Mia Farrow) starts her seeing things more clearly ..... and she doesn't like what she sees. One of Woody Allen's most underrated films, it may be my favorite of his "serious" films. Allen is, once again, influenced by his idol Ingmar Bergman but it doesn't seem as self consciously Bergmanian like INTERIORS. There's a transparency and grace that Allen doesn't always display in his work. It's also interesting to see Rowlands portraying a cerebral somewhat repressed woman, the antithesis of the "on the verge" high strung characters she often played in her work with John Cassavetes.  Normally I'm not a fan of Allen's "music from my record collection" underscores but he makes excellent use of Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1. The large cast includes Gene Hackman, Blythe Danner, Ian Holm, John Houseman, Martha Plimpton, Harris Yulin, Frances Conroy, Betty Buckley, Philip Bosco and in the film's best performance, Sandy Dennis.