Movie · 1978 · Drama, Romance, Comedy · 2h 4m · R · English
Curator score: 8.1/10 (18.3K ratings)
She laughs, she cries, she feels angry, she feels lonely, she feels guilty, she makes breakfast, she makes love, she makes do, she is strong, she is weak, she is brave, she is scared, she is… an unmarried woman.
Overview
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.1/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.92/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 79
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Paul Mazursky
Production
20th Century Fox
Cast
Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman, Kelly Bishop, Lisa Lucas, Linda Miller, Patricia Quinn, Andrew Duncan, Daniel Seltzer, Matthew Arkin, Penelope Russianoff, Novella Nelson, Raymond J. Barry, Ivan Karp, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Chico Martínez, Clint Chin, Ken Chapin
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, emotionally observant 1970s New York character study about divorce, reinvention, and female self-definition. It balances wit, vulnerability, and erotic awakening with a remarkably modern sensitivity.
Best for
viewers who like adult relationship dramas with humor
fans of 1970s New York cinema
people interested in feminist coming-of-age stories
audiences who appreciate strong lead performances and naturalistic dialogue
Skip if
you want a plot-heavy movie
you dislike frank conversations about sex and divorce
you prefer glossy romance over messy realism
you are not in the mood for a talky, character-driven film
Overview
An Unmarried Woman feels unusually alive in the way it watches a woman rebuild her identity after the collapse of a marriage. It’s funny without trivializing the pain, and candid about sex, loneliness, and the social performance of being “fine.”
Worth noting
Jill Clayburgh gives the film its pulse: wounded, funny, self-protective, and gradually more open to pleasure and uncertainty. Paul Mazursky keeps the tone loose and conversational, but the movie is carefully tuned to the emotional weather of post-divorce life.
Bottom line
What makes it endure is how unsentimental it is about liberation. The film understands that freedom can be thrilling, awkward, and destabilizing all at once, which is why it still feels fresh decades later.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Marie Bardi (4.5★) · 451 likes
I can't believe a man wrote this.
Sam (5★) · 310 likes
Do you ever have the feeling where a movie was actually made for you? Where every character reminds you of either yourself or someone you know well? Where every time you hear the (perfect) score you feel energized and happy? Where every scene is so entertaining but also memorable and smart? Where the time period in which the movie takes place is the time you wish you could time travel back to? Where you know the location of the movie… more Do you ever have the feeling where a movie was actually made for you? Where every character reminds you of either yourself or someone you know well? Where every time you hear the (perfect) score you feel energized and happy? Where every scene is so entertaining but also memorable and smart? Where the time period in which the movie takes place is the time you wish you could time travel back to? Where you know the location of the movie… more
Sam (5★) · 300 likes
There’s a great use of long takes AND Jill Clayburgh giving an outstanding performance AND feminist themes AND a combination of multiple amazing genres AND it’s from the 70s AND it takes place in New York AND it’s perfectly written AND I love the music AND there’s a great child performance AND I laughed several times AND I want to meet Erica AND every character is so damn relatable and realistic. If you live in NYC and you haven’t seen this, you have some work to do.
eely (4★) · 263 likes
sometimes you just have to sit on your bed with all your friends and talk about how powerful and incomparable katharine hepburn is
Katie Walsh · 236 likes
Before “Sex and the City,” before “Girls,” there was this unequivocal masterpiece.