An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky, and starring Jill Clayburgh.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Clayburgh was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
§Plot
Wealthy New York City wife Erica Benton's (Jill Clayburgh) complacent life is shattered when her stockbroker husband Martin (Michael Murphy) leaves her for a younger woman. Erica's attempts at being single again, where she suffers with confusion, sadness, and rage.
As her life progresses, she begins to bond with several friends and finds herself inspired and even feels happier by her renewed liberation. The story also touches on the overall sexual liberation of the 1970s. Erica eventually finds love with a rugged, yet sensitive British artist (Alan Bates).
§Cast
- Jill Clayburgh as Erica
- Alan Bates as Saul
- Michael Murphy as Martin
- Cliff Gorman as Charlie
- Patricia Quinn as Sue (as Pat Quinn)
- Kelly Bishop as Elaine
- Lisa Lucas as Patti
- Linda Miller as Jeannette
- Andrew Duncan as Bob
- Daniel Seltzer as Dr. Jacobs
- Matthew Arkin as Phil
- Penelope Russianoff as Tanya
- Novella Nelson as Jean
- Raymond J. Barry as Edward
- Ivan Karp as Herb Rowan
Note: The striking abstract expressionist paintings in the film were created by internationally renowned artist Paul Jenkins who taught Alan Bates his painting technique for his acting role.
§Awards
It was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Jill Clayburgh) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Mazursky's screenplay won awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Jill Clayburgh won the award for Best Actress at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.
The film was also nominated for several 1978 New York Film Critics Circle Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actress (for Jill Clayburgh) and Best Supporting Actress (for Lisa Lucas).
§Reception
Vincent Canby wrote "Miss Clayburgh is nothing less than extraordinary in what is the performance of the year to date. In her we see intelligence battling feeling â€" reason backed against the wall by pushy needs."
Pauline Kael in The New Yorker  :" An Unmarried Woman may give Mazursky the popular success that his films Blume in Love, Harry and Tonto and Next Stop, Greenwich Village should have given him - Erica (Jill Clayburgh), the heroine, sleeps in a T-shirt and bikini panties. There are so few movies that deal with recognizable people that this detail alone is enough to pick up one's spirits...Jill Clayburgh has a cracked , warbly voice - a modern polluted-city huskiness...When Erica's life falls apart and her reactions go out of control, Clayburgh's floating, not-quite-sure, not-quite-here quality is just right."
§References
§External links
- An Unmarried Woman at the Internet Movie Database
- An Unmarried Woman Overview
- Vincent Canby Review
