An Unmarried Woman

Erica, sixteen years married in New York, is suddenly alone when her husband tells her he has fallen in love with another woman. She starts living with her daughter, going to therapy and making decisions on her own for the first time. Paul Mazursky takes the changing life of women in the mid-seventies as his direct subject and makes Erica neither victim nor hero; she is angry, frightened and makes mistakes. Jill Clayburgh won best actress at Cannes for the part and the film was nominated for an Oscar. Its boldest quality is the ending: when a new relationship begins, Erica chooses not to go with him. That choice was outside the Hollywood template of the period and is why the film is still cited. Who it is for: viewers who like seventies American cinema and character-driven drama. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative.