Meg Ryan had established herself as the good-time girl of the big-screen by the 1990s, having asked Anthony Edwards’ Goose to take her to bed or be lost forever in TOP GUN (1986) and then more significantly as Sally Albright in a long-term on-off dynamic opposite Billy Crystal’s Harry Burns in Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy classic WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989).
However, the good times appeared to be too much for her character Alice in Luis Mandoki’s 1994 drama WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN, a teacher and mother of two who has more than a penchant for booze, a fact not lost on her pilot husband Michael (Andy Garcia) who is finding it increasingly difficult to handle his wife’s need to sort out her problems at the bottom of the bottle.
A trip abroad leaving the kids with their grandparents proves to be only a hiatus, as when she returns Alice goes on a scary binge that makes her oblivious to her daughter, whom she gets physical. Rehab beckons, but there are more than enough concerns that are not booze-related – and the dynamic of their relationship is about to be pushed to the full.
Critically acclaimed on its’ release, as well as a modest box-office success, WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN saw a much darker side to Ryan, who is more than matched on screen by Garcia, himself established as a leading man thanks to the likes of INTERNAL AFFAIRS (1990) opposite Richard Gere.
There is a sense of determined insight into the backstory of the characters and the aftermath of the effect of drink on the family dynamic, as well as the vulnerability that it brings in all forms of life.
The film also featured one of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s early roles, which was itself a follow-up to his performance opposite Chris O’Donnell in SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992), which featured Al Pacino’s Oscar-winning performance as the blind ex-Lt. Col. Frank Slade.