An Unmarried Woman **** (1978, Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman, Pat Quinn) – Classic Movie Review 8800

Writer-producer-director Paul Mazursky’s 1978 romantic comedy drama An Unmarried Woman is an insightful tale of troubled New Yorkers, as married woman Erica (Jill Clayburgh) and her teenage daughter are suddenly abandoned by rich, successful husband Martin (Michael Murphy) after 17 years of marriage.

Erica comes to terms with the break-up and establishes a proper sense of independence for herself. However, she is lonely and off men until she has an affair with work-obsessed English abstract expressionist artist Saul (Alan Bates), but she refuses to agree to drop everything for him.

An Unmarried Woman is extremely enjoyable and very well done, with a tremendous Oscar-nominated performance by the now eclipsed Clayburgh and a witty, subtle and penetrating screenplay by auteur Mazursky. It was nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Clayburgh won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival (1978), tied with Isabelle Huppert for Violette Nozière [Violette] (1978).

An Unmarried Woman is what used to be known, without disparagement, as a woman’s picture when it had someone like Joan Crawford starring in it. A capable, subtle, entertaining, quite special film, it did well at the box office, grossing $24,000,000 in the US.

Also in the cast are Cliff Gorman, Pat Quinn, Kelly Bishop, Michael Tucker, Jill Eikenberry, Lisa Lucas, Linda Miller, Andrew Duncan, Daniel Seltzer, Matthew Arkin, Penelope Russianoff (as Tanya the therapist), Novella Nelson, Raymond J Barry, Ivan Karp, Paul Mazursky and Ultra Violet.

Penelope Russianoff was an actual therapist, writing self-help books in the Seventies. The counselling sessions were filmed in her apartment on West 86th Street.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8800

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