Editing An Unmarried Woman

{{Short description|1978 film by Paul Mazursky}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = An Unmarried Woman
| image          = Unmarried_woman.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Paul Mazursky]]
| writer         = Paul Mazursky
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Paul Mazursky
* [[Anthony Ray (producer)|Tony Ray]]
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jill Clayburgh]]
* [[Alan Bates]]
* [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]]
* [[Cliff Gorman]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Arthur J. Ornitz]]
| editing        = Stuart H. Pappé
| music          = [[Bill Conti]]
| distributor    = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released       = {{Film date|1978|3|5|United States}}
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| runtime        = 125 minutes
| budget         = $2.5 million<ref>{{cite book |last=Solomon |first=Aubrey |title=Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History |series=The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |year=1989 |page=258 |isbn=978-0-8108-4244-1}}</ref>
| gross          = $24 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1978/0UNWO.php|title=An Unmarried Woman, Box Office Information|website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]|access-date=January 27, 2012}}</ref>
}}
'''''An Unmarried Woman''''' is a 1978 American [[Romance film|romantic]] [[comedy-drama]] film written and directed by [[Paul Mazursky]] and starring [[Jill Clayburgh]], [[Alan Bates]], [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]], and [[Cliff Gorman]]. The film was nominated for three [[51st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]], and [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (Clayburgh).

==Plot==
Erica Benton works part-time at a [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]] art gallery and is in a seemingly happy marriage to Martin, a successful businessman. They live together with their teenage daughter Patti in an upscale apartment on Manhattan's [[Upper East Side]]. Martin, however, has been having a year-long affair with a much younger woman named Marcia. When he confesses to Erica that he loves his mistress and wants to marry her, Erica is devastated, and Martin moves out.

With the help of Patti, her circle of close friends, and a therapist, Erica slowly comes to terms with the divorce and begins to get her life back on track. She reluctantly tries dating again, but after Martin's betrayal and a disastrous blind date, she is even warier of ever finding a suitable man again. Her mistrust of men threatens her relationship with Patti, as she takes out her frustrations on Patti's boyfriend, Phil. Out of desperation, Erica has sex with Charlie, an obnoxious, chauvinistic co-worker, but she does not find the experience fulfilling.

As she grows more accustomed to her new life, she meets Saul, an abstract painter, and begins a relationship with him. Both value their independence and so have a difficult time adjusting to domestic life. When Patti meets Saul, she is initially hostile, believing Erica is trying to bring him in to replace Martin, which Saul assures Patti is not his intention.

After a few tense meetings, Martin and Erica begin to act cordially towards each other, only for Martin to reveal that Marcia has left him and he wants Erica back. Erica rebuffs him.

Saul tries to convince Erica to come with him to his home in Vermont for the summer, where he spends five months every year with his children, but she declines, not wishing to leave her daughter and her life behind for so long. Outside Saul's building, Erica helps him lower one of his paintings from his loft to the sidewalk. Shortly before driving away in his car, Saul reveals that the painting is a gift for Erica, leaving her to carry the giant canvas through the busy streets of Manhattan.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Jill Clayburgh]] as Erica Benton
* [[Alan Bates]] as Saul Kaplan
* [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]] as Martin Benton
* [[Cliff Gorman]] as Charlie
* [[Pat Quinn (American actress)|Pat Quinn]] as Sue Miller
* [[Kelly Bishop]] as Elaine Liebowitz
* [[Lisa Lucas]] as Patti Benton
* [[Linda Miller (actress)|Linda Miller]] as Jeannette Lewin
* Andrew Duncan as Bob
* [[Daniel Seltzer]] as Dr. Jacobs
* [[Matthew Arkin]] as Phil
* Penelope Russianoff as Tanya Berkel
* [[Novella Nelson]] as Jean Starret
* [[Raymond J. Barry]] as Edward Thoreaux
* Ivan Karp as Herb Rowan
* [[Jill Eikenberry]] as Claire
* [[Michael Tucker (actor)|Michael Tucker]] as Fred
* [[Paul Mazursky]] as Hal
* [[Vincent Schiavelli]] as man at party
* [[David Rasche]] as man at bar (uncredited)
}}

The [[Abstract expressionism|abstract expressionist]] paintings in the film were created by artist [[Paul Jenkins (painter)|Paul Jenkins]], who taught Bates his painting technique for his acting role.<ref name="NYT17jun">{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Randy|title=Paul Jenkins, Painter of Abstract Artwork, Dies at 88|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/arts/design/paul-jenkins-abstract-expressionist-painter-dies-at-88.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=17 June 2012|access-date=18 June 2012|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105131706/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/arts/design/paul-jenkins-abstract-expressionist-painter-dies-at-88.html|archive-date=November 5, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Production==
Paul Mazursky began writing the script in 1976 after interviewing several different women about their thoughts on marriage and independence.  He initially offered the role of Erica to [[Jane Fonda]], who passed to star in ''[[Julia (1977 film)|Julia]]''. Mazursky also considered [[Barbra Streisand]] for the lead but did not hear back from her agent. Finally, [[Jill Clayburgh]] was considered without an audition after Mazursky saw her in a New York play. At 32 years old, Clayburgh was thought to be too young to play a wife in a 16-year marriage with a teenage daughter, but Clayburgh returned to Mazursky's office having styled herself in fashions indicative of an older woman and secured the part.

[[Principal photography]] began on April 5, 1977, in New York City, with the main locations being Manhattan's [[Upper East Side]] and [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]] neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57048 |title=An Unmarried Woman (1978) |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=July 1, 2023}}</ref> Clayburgh worked the entire shoot without a day off; her character was written into every scene of a film that was on a tight budget.

[[Anthony Hopkins]] was offered the role of Saul but turned it down because the character does not show up until past the midway point of the script.  British actor [[Alan Bates]], whom Mazursky had always admired and who had never appeared in an American film, was given the part. Bates had some misgivings because he did not want to leave his dying father in England, but Mazursky assured him that he would be given seven days to be with his father in case of a tragic event. Bates conceded and his father died after he returned home.

==Reception==
===Critical response===
[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that "Clayburgh is nothing less than extraordinary in what is the performance of the year to date. In her we see intelligence battling feeling{{spnd}}reason backed against the wall by pushy needs."<ref>{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/05/archives/an-unmarried-woman-film-with-jill-clayburghthe-cast.html |title='An Unmarried Woman,' Film With Jill Clayburgh |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 5, 1978 |access-date=June 27, 2023}}</ref>

[[Pauline Kael]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote: {{blockquote|''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{{spnd}}Erica, 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{{spnd}}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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kael |first=Pauline |author-link=Pauline Kael |title=When the Lights Go Down: Film Writings, 1975–1980 |title-link=When the Lights Go Down (book) |location=New York |publisher=[[Holt, Rinehart and Winston]] |year=1980 |pages=410–414}}</ref>}}

On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Jill Clayburgh is wondrous as a woman who loses her marriage – only to find herself – in this acutely observed and lived-in portrait of New York City life."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/unmarried_woman|title=An Unmarried Woman|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[1978 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]]
| rowspan="4"| 1978
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| Paul Mazursky
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1978/allSelections.html |title=Official Selection 1978: All the Selection |publisher=[[Cannes Film Festival]] |access-date=June 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226221940/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1978/allSelections.html |archive-date=December 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1978/allAward.html |title=Awards 1978: All Awards |publisher=Cannes Film Festival |access-date=June 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019172747/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1978/allAward.html |archive-date=October 19, 2013}}</ref>
|-
| [[Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Jill Clayburgh
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Isabelle Huppert]] for ''[[Violette Nozière]]''}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[1978 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Paul Mazursky
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lafca.net/Years/1978.php |title=Awards for 1978 |publisher=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1978|National Board of Review Awards]]
| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| ''An Unmarried Woman''
| {{draw|7th Place}}
| style="text-align:center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1978/ |title=1978 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[51st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| rowspan="19"| 1979
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| Paul Mazursky and Anthony Ray
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979 |title=The 51st Academy Awards {{!}} 1979 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Jill Clayburgh
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen]]
| rowspan="2"| Paul Mazursky
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Bodil Awards]]
| [[Bodil Award for Best American Film|Best Non-European Film]]
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bodilprisen.dk/aar-for-aar/1979-2/ |title=Bodilprisen 1979 |language=da |publisher=[[Bodil Awards]] |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[32nd British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| Jill Clayburgh
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://awards.bafta.org/award/1979/film |title=Film in 1979 |publisher=[[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Awards]] |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[31st Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Paul Mazursky
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center"| <ref name="msn">{{cite web|url=http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-awards-and-nominations/an-unmarried-woman/?ipp=45|title=An Unmarried Woman: Awards & Nominations|access-date=June 4, 2011|website=[[MSN Movies]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923122633/http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-awards-and-nominations/an-unmarried-woman/?ipp=45|archive-date=September 23, 2012}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="5"| [[36th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| ''An Unmarried Woman''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/unmarried-woman |title=Unmarried Woman, An |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Jill Clayburgh
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| rowspan="2"| Paul Mazursky
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| Bill Conti
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''An Unmarried Woman''
| {{draw|2nd Place}}{{efn|Tied with ''[[The Deer Hunter]]''}}
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/04/archives/critics-cite-get-out-your-handkerchiefs-a-special-citation.html |title=Critics Cite 'Get Out Your Handkerchiefs' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 4, 1979 |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Jill Clayburgh
| {{draw|3rd Place}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Paul Mazursky
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4"| [[1978 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''An Unmarried Woman''
| {{Runner-up}}
| style="text-align:center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/21/archives/miss-bergman-jon-voight-and-deer-hunter-cited-wins-on-third-ballot.html |title=Miss Bergman, Jon Voight And 'Deer Hunter' Cited |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 21, 1978 |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Actress]]
| Jill Clayburgh
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| rowspan="3"| Paul Mazursky
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[31st Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Drama Written Directly for the Screenplay]]
| {{nom}}
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
* {{AFI film}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6975-an-unmarried-woman-the-business-of-being-a-woman ''An Unmarried Woman: The Business of Being a Woman''] – an essay by [[Angelica Jade Bastién]] at [[The Criterion Collection]]

{{Paul Mazursky}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unmarried Woman}}
[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:1978 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1978 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1978 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s feminist films]]
[[Category:1970s romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American feminist comedy films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Films about adultery in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about divorce]]
[[Category:Films directed by Paul Mazursky]]
[[Category:Films scored by Bill Conti]]
[[Category:Films set in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]