Rating: 4.5/5
Wanda’s sister wakes up to a toddler screaming. She picks up the child and takes it with her to the kitchen. Looking at her disdainfully, her husband slams the door on his way out.
Startled by the slamming door, Wanda wakes up on the couch, uncovering her face.
He's mad because I'm here.
Wanda borrows some money for the bus and rides to court.
At the courthouse, Wanda’s husband, John, paces. Miss Godek looks after Wanda and John’s two kids. John complains about Wanda and how lousy a wife she is.
When Wanda arrives, the judge asserts Wanda deserted her husband and children.
Listen, judge, if he wants a divorce, give it to him.
Wanda goes to pick up a paycheck at a garment factory, but they claim they’ve already paid her what they owe.
A guy buys her a Rolling Rock. They have sex, and he sneaks off, but she follows him. He forces her out of the car at an ice cream shop and drives off.
She goes to a movie and loses track of her purse. When she finds it, her cash is gone.
She slips into a closed bar, eats chips, and drinks a beer.
Mr. Dennis, who is behind the bar, is acting shady. He only let her leave after the police rolled by. They go to a closing diner, and he feeds her. Then they have sex.
He tells her to get dressed and get him food, handing her a wad of cash. When she returns, he smacks her and calls her stupid for getting burgers with onions.
What'd you do that for? That hurt.
They check out of the hotel, and he hot-wires a car. Wanda is confused, so Mr. Dennis hands her a newspaper. She has trouble reading, but the article about a bar robbery mentions them.
— Where's your husband? — I guess he got himself a real good wife.
During Feminism’s Second Wave, the movement made political choices regarding the women they wanted to support, and those they wanted to criticize. In Wanda’s case, she was a slut who didn’t deserve our time and attention — at least, according to Pauline Kael.
Wanda reminds me of my mom. She found comfort in the company of abusive men. Her naivete could be genuine or a performance for the men. If she acted nice, she thought, nothing bad would happen. It’s a dynamic that was familiar, so she sought it out.
In that way, this film feels so real it hurts to watch. Apart from that, they have no similarities.
As the writer, director, and lead, Barbara Loden nailed an unrepresented person in media. Her performance is incredible and specific. With a single glance, her face reveals a wealth of information.
Now, it’s hard not to see Wanda as a victim of her circumstances. It’s bold for the movie to start with her divorce court session that she is late to. Otherwise, the character’s sympathy would have been easier to earn.
I love how ugly and unromantic the crime aspects are. This movie isn’t about sexy people. Wanda takes what she can get. Mr. Dennis wants more than the world offers.
This film is deft, unassuming, and so brilliantly pieced together. It’s a genuine and singular movie that deserves all the praise.