Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
When Eve, an interior designer, is deserted by her husband of many years, Arthur, the emotionally glacial relationships of the three grown-up daughters are laid bare. Twisted by jealousy, insecurity and resentment, Renata, a successful writer; Joey, a woman crippled by indecision; and Flyn, a budding actress; struggle to communicate for the sake of their shattered mother. But when their father unexpectedly falls for another woman, his decision to remarry sets in motion a terrible twist of fate…
Woody Allen's deliberate homage to Ingmar Bergman is technically accomplished and emotionally austere, with Gordon Willis's extraordinarily controlled cinematography—muted palettes, precise framing, suffocating interiors—standing as the film's most distinctive achievement. The ensemble cast (Geraldine Page, Diane Keaton, Maureen Stapleton) delivers deeply committed, naturalistic performances that anchor the film's emotional weight. The plot, however, is deliberately static and chamber-like, which suits Allen's intentions but limits dramatic momentum; the family dynamics, while psychologically acute, follow a recognizable trajectory of dysfunction and crisis. Novelty is middling: the film is singular in Allen's career and remarkable in its controlled severity, but its Bergman debt is so explicit that it sacrifices some of its own distinctiveness. The ending—the drowning, the ambiguous aftermath—carries real emotional force but feels somewhat abrupt and theatrically convenient given the meticulous slow-burn that precedes it.