The Last to Know (1981) Bonnie Friedman - USA

Four women alcoholics are interviewed in this documentary by director Bonnie Friedman that highlights the opinions men hold about female alcoholics, the seriousness of the issue in the U.S. (an estimated 5,000,000 women are alcoholics), and the causes of the disease. The four women themselves cite loneliness and being abandoned by their husbands as important causes for their drinking -- which in some cases is so serious that one woman could not get out of bed for weeks at a time, and another could not remember why or how she was waking up with a stranger or strangers in her bed. When the sorry plight of the women is seen against the disparaging remarks of men against female alcoholics, their situation seems even worse. There is always hope, however, as a few of the women opt for treatment rather than continuing on their downward spiral.