Girlfriends (1978) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Anne moves out to marry her boyfriend Martin, which fundamentally disrupts Susan's life. With Anne gone, Susan loses her primary social connection and emotional support system. The apartment feels emptier, her social circle shrinks, and she struggles to sell photographs. More importantly, Susan feels abandoned and resentful as she watches Anne embrace a conventional life of marriage and motherhood while she remains unmarried and chasing her artistic dreams.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes establish Anne and Susan as inseparable best friends, making her sudden departure feel like a profound loss.

• anne moves out
• susan loneliness
• roommate leaves
• best friends separated

Susan secures a gallery meeting through a mix of nerve and audacity, essentially a clever misstep that gets her foot in the door. The gallery owner is impressed enough to recommend her to another gallerist, who finally agrees to stage her own show. This breakthrough represents the culmination of her shift from commercial portrait work toward fine art photography.

Foreshadowing: After selling three photographs to a magazine, Susan begins believing she can transition away from commercial work toward gallery exposure.

• gallery show
• photography career
• susan artist
• breakthrough exhibition

Susan insists on keeping her own apartment because she values her independence and personal space. The conflict with Eric stems from fundamentally different views about relationships, she's building a life centered on her career and autonomy, while he expects more traditional cohabitation. This disagreement exposes the tension between her growing professional identity and conventional relationship expectations.

Foreshadowing: Eric admires Susan's independence when they meet, but this same independence becomes a source of friction.

• eric boyfriend
• apartment conflict
• independence vs relationship
• moving in together

Anne misses Susan's gallery show because she has chosen to take a solitary trip to the countryside to focus on her writing. Her absence is conspicuous and symbolic, it represents the growing distance between the two friends. Martin explains Anne's whereabouts to Susan, highlighting how their friendship has deteriorated to the point where Anne no longer prioritizes supporting Susan's major life moments.

Foreshadowing: Tensions between Susan and Anne have been building throughout the film as their life paths diverge.

• gallery opening
• anne absence
• friendship broken
• missing event

Anne reveals she had an abortion that morning as a deeply personal decision about not wanting more children. She makes this confession to Susan during their countryside reconciliation, explaining it as a difficult choice that reflects her own values about motherhood and family size. The revelation adds emotional weight to their reconciliation and underscores how both women are navigating different but equally complex life decisions.

Foreshadowing: Anne's marriage to Martin and subsequent life choices have clearly diverged from Susan's path, suggesting different priorities about family.

• anne abortion
• personal choice
• family planning
• confession countryside

Susan develops a fascination with Rabbi Gold through her work photographing bar mitzvahs and weddings at his synagogue. The rabbi oversees these events she frequently photographs, creating opportunities for connection. Their attraction builds through these professional interactions and culminates in a kiss, though their potential romance is complicated when Susan unexpectedly encounters the rabbi's wife and young son, adding moral tension to her professional life.

Foreshadowing: Susan's work at religious ceremonies repeatedly brings her into contact with Rabbi Gold, establishing the foundation for their attraction.

• rabbi gold
• forbidden attraction
• complicated romance
• synagogue photographer

The tension between Susan and Anne stems from their diverging life paths. Anne becomes jealous of Susan's independence and professional momentum, while Susan resents Anne's conventional marriage and the idea of motherhood. Their friendship fractures as Susan pursues her artistic career and refuses to follow Anne's traditional timeline. The conflict represents two different approaches to life, one centered on career and independence, the other on marriage and family.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes show the friends as close confidants, making their eventual rift more impactful.

• friendship conflict
• jealousy between friends
• life choices diverge
• anne susan rivalry

Susan travels to the countryside to find Anne and mend their rift. During their meeting, Anne apologizes for missing the gallery show and then reveals her recent abortion. The two women share an unguarded moment of honesty, drinking tequila and playing games as they navigate forgiveness and sisterhood. However, their reconciliation is interrupted by Martin's arrival, leaving their friendship's future uncertain.

Foreshadowing: The gallery show's tension and Anne's absence directly lead to Susan seeking reconciliation.

• reconciliation
• countryside meeting
• forgiveness
• tequila conversation

Anne goes to the countryside alone to focus on her work as a writer, needing space away from her marriage and city life. This solo trip represents her own struggle to find creative clarity and personal direction, paralleling Susan's own journey toward independence. Martin explains her absence to Susan during the gallery show, revealing that Anne has chosen solitude to pursue her creative goals.

Foreshadowing: Both women are shown pursuing creative careers that demand sacrifice and isolation.

• anne writer
• creative retreat
• countryside solitude
• writing focus

When Susan unexpectedly encounters the rabbi's wife and young son, it immediately complicates their developing attraction. The encounter cools the heat between Susan and Rabbi Gold, introducing moral tension to their potential romance. This moment forces Susan to recognize the reality of the rabbi's family commitments, adding complexity to her professional and personal dilemmas.

Foreshadowing: Susan and Rabbi Gold share a kiss earlier, creating expectation for their relationship to develop.

• rabbi family
• meeting wife son
• moral conflict
• forbidden romance ends