Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown received acclaim from critics and audiences alike, and is often considered one of Almodóvar's best films.
The Spanish title refers to an ataque de nervios (attack of the nerves), inexactly translated into English as "nervous breakdown" (crisis nerviosa).
Ataques de nervios are culture-bound psychological phenomena during which the individual, most often female, displays dramatic outpouring of negative emotions, bodily gestures, occasional falling to the ground, and fainting, often in response to receiving disturbing news or witnessing or participating in an upsetting event.
[6] Pepa and Iván are voice actors who dub foreign films, most recently Johnny Guitar with Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden.
Arriving at work late after Iván has left, Pepa spends the rest of the day desperately trying to give him an important message.
Hearing Carlos playing Lola Beltrán's "Soy infeliz"; Pepa throws the record out the window, which hits Paulina like a frisbee.
Pepa hears Iván's message, rips out the phone again, and throws the answering machine out the window, hitting the couple's car.
Lucía aims a policeman's gun at Pepa, saying that she was released from the mental institution when she faked sanity after hearing Iván's voice dubbed on a foreign film.
The website's critics consensus reads, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown finds writer-director Pedro Almodóvar working in a distinctly feminist vein, with richly rewarding results.
The cast included Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Laura Benanti, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Danny Burstein, Mary Beth Peil, Justin Guarini, de'Adre Aziza, and Nikka Graff Lanzarone, with direction by Bartlett Sher.
[13] A West End production of the show opened at London's Playhouse Theatre on 12 January 2015 for a 20-week run, starring Tamsin Greig, Jérôme Pradon, Haydn Gwynne and Anna Skellern.
[14] In January 2022, it was reported that Apple TV+ was adapting the film into a television series with Gina Rodriguez set to star and executive produce.