Todd Haynes is known for his uniquely experimental approach to filmmaking, but 2007's "I'm Not There" might be his most ambitiously inventive project to date. So ambitious, it seems, that his characteristic directorial flair confused one of the film's stars — namely, Heath Ledger.
Having already taken on the entire Glam Rock era with 1998's "Velvet Goldmine," Haynes turned his attention to an even more daunting task: telling Bob Dylan's life story. The director first had to come up with a concept interesting enough to persuade the notoriously mercurial Dylan to grant permission to depict his life on-screen. Naturally, he came up with a film that, on the surface, didn't seem to be about Bob Dylan at all. Instead, six actors would portray six different characters with names like Arthur Rimbaud, Jack Rollins, and Robbie Clark — all versions of Dylan at various points in his life.
The inventive concept won over the iconic musician,...
Having already taken on the entire Glam Rock era with 1998's "Velvet Goldmine," Haynes turned his attention to an even more daunting task: telling Bob Dylan's life story. The director first had to come up with a concept interesting enough to persuade the notoriously mercurial Dylan to grant permission to depict his life on-screen. Naturally, he came up with a film that, on the surface, didn't seem to be about Bob Dylan at all. Instead, six actors would portray six different characters with names like Arthur Rimbaud, Jack Rollins, and Robbie Clark — all versions of Dylan at various points in his life.
The inventive concept won over the iconic musician,...
- 11/9/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
In the Season Four finale of Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Tony Bennett managed to be arguably the episode’s biggest star without having to show his face or sing a note.
The episode — “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?,” written and directed by the streaming comedy’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino — took place immediately before and after famously risqué comedian Lenny Bruce (played by Luke Kirby) performed his historic Feb. 2, 1961 gig at Carnegie Hall, with the show’s title character and Bruce having a conversation that wraps around Bennett, portrayed as the epitome of class and the pinnacle of what an artist should be.
The star’s son and longtime manager, Danny Bennett, says that no one in the production came to him to ask any permissions, and only used Tony’s likeness on a newspaper ad relating to the gig at the Copa. “That show’s so great,...
The episode — “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?,” written and directed by the streaming comedy’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino — took place immediately before and after famously risqué comedian Lenny Bruce (played by Luke Kirby) performed his historic Feb. 2, 1961 gig at Carnegie Hall, with the show’s title character and Bruce having a conversation that wraps around Bennett, portrayed as the epitome of class and the pinnacle of what an artist should be.
The star’s son and longtime manager, Danny Bennett, says that no one in the production came to him to ask any permissions, and only used Tony’s likeness on a newspaper ad relating to the gig at the Copa. “That show’s so great,...
- 3/21/2022
- by A.D. Amorosi
- Variety Film + TV
Did you see an actor in a Marvel movie, then suddenly got confused when you saw that same actor in a DC movie or vice versa? Check out our list of the actors that have been part of both universes
Zachary Levi
Levi played Fandral in “Thor: The Dark World” and then died in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Levi would rise from the dead from the supporting ranks and make it to leading man status when he headlined DC’s “Shazam!”
Sylvester Stallone
Stallone portrayed Stakar Ogord in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” and will next be seen voicing “King Shark” in DC’s upcoming “The Suicide Squad.”
Taika Waititi
On top of directing, Waititi played Korg in “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Avengers: Endgame” and will reprise the role in the upcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder.” On the DC side, Waititi played Thomas Kalmaku in “Green Lantern” and will play an unknown role in “The Suicide Squad.
Zachary Levi
Levi played Fandral in “Thor: The Dark World” and then died in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Levi would rise from the dead from the supporting ranks and make it to leading man status when he headlined DC’s “Shazam!”
Sylvester Stallone
Stallone portrayed Stakar Ogord in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” and will next be seen voicing “King Shark” in DC’s upcoming “The Suicide Squad.”
Taika Waititi
On top of directing, Waititi played Korg in “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Avengers: Endgame” and will reprise the role in the upcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder.” On the DC side, Waititi played Thomas Kalmaku in “Green Lantern” and will play an unknown role in “The Suicide Squad.
- 7/8/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
While the concluding genocide of last year’s Avengers: Infinity War ensured that Avengers: Endgame didn’t have to juggle quite so many characters in its early minutes, the new movie ultimately boasted the largest cast of any McU flick to date. And in a new Reddit post, user spanish-thumb has ambitiously tried listing every named character who shows up in the film’s 3-hour runtime. Needless to say, spoilers lie ahead.
The list starts off with all the heroes who traveled back in time to acquire the Infinity Stones:
Iron Man/Tony Stark Captain America/Steve Rogers Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff Hulk/Bruce Banner Thor Hawkeye/Ronin/Clint Barton Nebula Rocket War Machine/James Rhodes Ant-Man/Scott Lang
Next up is all the characters that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes encounter during their journey into the past:
Crossbones/Brock Rumlow Jasper Sitwell Alexander Pierce Jack Rollins Ancient One Loki Howard...
The list starts off with all the heroes who traveled back in time to acquire the Infinity Stones:
Iron Man/Tony Stark Captain America/Steve Rogers Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff Hulk/Bruce Banner Thor Hawkeye/Ronin/Clint Barton Nebula Rocket War Machine/James Rhodes Ant-Man/Scott Lang
Next up is all the characters that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes encounter during their journey into the past:
Crossbones/Brock Rumlow Jasper Sitwell Alexander Pierce Jack Rollins Ancient One Loki Howard...
- 4/28/2019
- by David Pountain
- We Got This Covered
Avengers: Endgame is a big, big movie.
It’s a three-hour juggernaut that somehow zips by like a lean, carefully edited blockbuster. Part of that comes down to the script produced by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, whose McU writing credits span Infinity War to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Credit must be given to the Russo Brothers, too, who managed to close the book on this 22-picture saga in the most satisfying way imaginable. Because when Endgame delivers – and boy, does it deliver – you’ll be left rooted to the edge of your seat, overcome with nostalgia, joy, and just a hint of sadness. But perhaps we’ve said too much…
Nevertheless, on the eve of Endgame‘s global debut, we’ve compiled all of the film’s many cameos for you to peruse. Spoilers to follow, obviously.
Earth's Mightiest Heroes Are In A Bad Mood In New Avengers:...
It’s a three-hour juggernaut that somehow zips by like a lean, carefully edited blockbuster. Part of that comes down to the script produced by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, whose McU writing credits span Infinity War to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Credit must be given to the Russo Brothers, too, who managed to close the book on this 22-picture saga in the most satisfying way imaginable. Because when Endgame delivers – and boy, does it deliver – you’ll be left rooted to the edge of your seat, overcome with nostalgia, joy, and just a hint of sadness. But perhaps we’ve said too much…
Nevertheless, on the eve of Endgame‘s global debut, we’ve compiled all of the film’s many cameos for you to peruse. Spoilers to follow, obviously.
Earth's Mightiest Heroes Are In A Bad Mood In New Avengers:...
- 4/25/2019
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Buddy Morra, the former talent manager who at one time handled comedians as Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, JoAnn Worley, David Letterman, Martin Mull, Jim Carrey, Marty Short, Dana Carvey, Paula Poundstone, Dick Cavett, Woody Allen, Tom Poston, John Pizzarelli, Michael Feinsten, Michael Richards, and Jake Johannsen (among others) has died. He passed on March 19 after a long illness. He was 88.
“Buddy was the most important person in my career. He believed in me even before I did,” Billy Crystal told Deadline. “In 1974, I was with a struggling three-man comedy group, and he took me aside and said if I wanted to be a stand up that, he’d be there for me along with the highly respected Jack Rollins, Charlie Joffe and Larry Brezner. He gave me the confidence to go it alone. A humble, gentle, humorous man, we had great highs together, and a few setbacks, but...
“Buddy was the most important person in my career. He believed in me even before I did,” Billy Crystal told Deadline. “In 1974, I was with a struggling three-man comedy group, and he took me aside and said if I wanted to be a stand up that, he’d be there for me along with the highly respected Jack Rollins, Charlie Joffe and Larry Brezner. He gave me the confidence to go it alone. A humble, gentle, humorous man, we had great highs together, and a few setbacks, but...
- 3/21/2019
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Between the two of them, David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld have over a half century combined at the apex of the television industry. But on Monday night at Netflix’s Emmy-themed “FYSee” space in Hollywood, the two had a spirited conversation that ran the gamut of their respective careers, trading their thoughts on some more current issues along the way.
One of those subjects was Michelle Wolf’s recent set at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which drew raves from the “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” host.
“You heard, from certain elements, outrage. Just outrage. ‘Oh my God, she’s set a grassfire and we’ll never put it out.’ The more I got to thinking about it, I thought, ‘Wow, that was great,’” Letterman said. “She had the guts to stand up there and didn’t apologize, when everybody is now apologizing for everything. So, whether you liked it or not,...
One of those subjects was Michelle Wolf’s recent set at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which drew raves from the “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” host.
“You heard, from certain elements, outrage. Just outrage. ‘Oh my God, she’s set a grassfire and we’ll never put it out.’ The more I got to thinking about it, I thought, ‘Wow, that was great,’” Letterman said. “She had the guts to stand up there and didn’t apologize, when everybody is now apologizing for everything. So, whether you liked it or not,...
- 5/8/2018
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Looking back on this still-young century makes clear that 2007 was a major time for cinematic happenings — and, on the basis of this retrospective, one we’re not quite through with ten years on. One’s mind might quickly flash to a few big titles that will be represented, but it is the plurality of both festival and theatrical premieres that truly surprises: late works from old masters, debuts from filmmakers who’ve since become some of our most-respected artists, and mid-career turning points that didn’t necessarily announce themselves as such at the time. Join us as an assembled team, many of whom were coming of age that year, takes on their favorites.
A kaleidoscopic portrait / exploration / celebration / etc. of Bob Dylan’s many contradictions and personas, I’m Not There isn’t the first pseudo-biopic from director Todd Haynes. His debut film, Superstar, unravels the life of singer Karen Carpenter and her eventual,...
A kaleidoscopic portrait / exploration / celebration / etc. of Bob Dylan’s many contradictions and personas, I’m Not There isn’t the first pseudo-biopic from director Todd Haynes. His debut film, Superstar, unravels the life of singer Karen Carpenter and her eventual,...
- 12/4/2017
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
Hollywood talent manager Larry A. Thompson will be inducted into the Personal Managers Hall of Fame. The film and Broadway producer, attorney, book packager, author and motivational speaker will join other previously inaugurated members, including Bernie Brillstein, Shep Gordon, Charles H. Joffe, Ken Kragen and Jack Rollins, among others. Clinton Ford Billups Jr. is the president of the National Conference of Personal Managers (Ncopm), which recognizes outstanding careers in personal management and awards the highest recognition bestowed upon a personal manager. Other members of the 2016 class are Rushion McDonald, Doc McGhee, Edie Robb, Jerry Solomon and Jeff Wald. New posthumous inductees include George.
- 2/16/2016
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
Jack Rollins, who along with his partner, the late Charles H. Joffe, had produced all of Woody Allen's films between 1969 and 1993, has died at age 100. Rollins and Joffe also served as Allen's manager. Rollins had also managed Robin Williams, Diane Keaton and Dick Cavett, among other show business notables. Rollins and Joffe were hired by Allen when he was an aspiring young filmmaker. They saw more potential in him than he saw in himself. Allen said of Rollins, "He pushed me to always be deeper, more complex, more human, more dramatic- and not to rest comfortably". Indeed, with Rollins and Joffe as his managers, Allen progressed from making popular, slapstick-oriented films to writing and directing some of the most acclaimed films in recent decades, winning Oscars for his efforts. Upon hearing of Rollins' death, Allen said "He was one of the very few people in my life who lived...
- 6/23/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Update, Friday Am: Late last night, Billy Crystal tweeted this: “A true mentor to me…Sad but grateful.” Jack Rollins one of managers has died. A true mentor to me, his words always rang true.Sad but grateful for our time together. #endofera — Billy Crystal (@BillyCrystal) June 19, 2015 Earlier: If there was a Jewish equivalent to the roundtable of vaunted wits who gathered at the Algonquin Hotel in the early decades of the last century, it was probably the deli where…...
- 6/19/2015
- Deadline
Everyone knows Woody Allen. At least, everyone thinks they know Woody Allen. His plumage is easily identifiable: horn-rimmed glasses, baggy suit, wispy hair, kvetching demeanor, ironic sense of humor, acute fear of death. As is his habitat: New York City, though recently he has flown as far afield as London, Barcelona, and Paris. His likes are well known: Bergman, Dostoevsky, New Orleans jazz. So too his dislikes: spiders, cars, nature, Wagner records, the entire city of Los Angeles. Whether or not these traits represent the true Allen, who’s to say? It is impossible to tell, with Allen, where cinema ends and life begins, an obfuscation he readily encourages. In the late nineteen-seventies, disillusioned with the comedic success he’d found making such films as Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), and Annie Hall (1977), he turned for darker territory with Stardust Memories (1980), a film in which, none too surprisingly, he plays a...
- 1/24/2015
- by Graham Daseler
- The Moving Arts Journal
Holly Hunter and 300: Rise of an Empire star Callan Mulvey are joining the cast of director Zack Snyder's Batman vs Superman movie.
Tao Okamoto - who played Mariko Yashida in The Wolverine - has also boarded the project, with all three stars signing up for unspecified characters never-before-seen in the DC Universe.
Mulvey is coming off a role in a Marvel Studios film adaptation, as Shield agent Jack Rollins in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Hunter is an Academy Award and BAFTA-winning actress, who also recently earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for playing an eccentric guru in Top of the Lake.
Filmmaker Snyder hailed Hunter as one of his "favourite actresses" in a statement confirming her casting.
"She has immense talent and is always captivating on screen," the director said. "I had an opportunity to meet her a while back and knew instantly that I had to work with her,...
Tao Okamoto - who played Mariko Yashida in The Wolverine - has also boarded the project, with all three stars signing up for unspecified characters never-before-seen in the DC Universe.
Mulvey is coming off a role in a Marvel Studios film adaptation, as Shield agent Jack Rollins in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Hunter is an Academy Award and BAFTA-winning actress, who also recently earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for playing an eccentric guru in Top of the Lake.
Filmmaker Snyder hailed Hunter as one of his "favourite actresses" in a statement confirming her casting.
"She has immense talent and is always captivating on screen," the director said. "I had an opportunity to meet her a while back and knew instantly that I had to work with her,...
- 4/3/2014
- Digital Spy
Warner Bros. is still calling it the "Untitled Superman-Batman Project", but the majority of those of us paying attention are calling it Batman vs. Superman and while extras are being sought for an April 27 shoot in Detroit, director Zack Snyder has added three recognizable names to the production in Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter (pictured), Callan Mulvey who plays Jack Rollins in this weekend's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Tao Okamoto who played Mariko in The Wolverine. There are no details on their characters other than to say all three actors will play characters newly created for the film. The trio join Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck who plays Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane and newcomers cJesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Speaking of which, Gadot recently spoke with E! Online concerning her training regimen for the film of which she says,...
- 4/3/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Man of Steel, meet Elastigirl.
Holly Hunter is the latest addition to the Henry Cavill/Ben Affleck superhero mash-up, tentatively known as Superman/Batman, with Callan Mulvey of 300: Rise of an Empire and Tao Okamoto of The Wolverine also joining the Zack Snyder film. All will will be playing new characters, never before seen in the DC Comics universe.
“Holly has always been one of my favorite actresses,” Synder said in a statement. “She has immense talent and is always captivating on screen. I had an opportunity to meet her a while back and knew instantly that I had to work with her,...
Holly Hunter is the latest addition to the Henry Cavill/Ben Affleck superhero mash-up, tentatively known as Superman/Batman, with Callan Mulvey of 300: Rise of an Empire and Tao Okamoto of The Wolverine also joining the Zack Snyder film. All will will be playing new characters, never before seen in the DC Comics universe.
“Holly has always been one of my favorite actresses,” Synder said in a statement. “She has immense talent and is always captivating on screen. I had an opportunity to meet her a while back and knew instantly that I had to work with her,...
- 4/3/2014
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
First and foremost, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is the best action film out of the entire Marvel movie universe so far, bar none. Just in terms of sheer impact and choreography and execution and clarity of geography and did I mention impact because Damn. If that is all that this film did well, that would be enough for me to recommend it. Beyond that, though, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is a tremendous piece of pop entertainment, smart and engaging and featuring a home run movie star lead performance by Chris Evans and the best overall supporting cast in one of the Marvel movies in terms of everybody having something significant to do and everyone being written for to a degree where they're playing people and not just types. Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, this movie hits the ground running, literally, in a great scene where Steve Rogers...
- 3/21/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
A while back, I posted a theory that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is greatly influenced by a 1988 six issue miniseries, Nick Fury vs S.H.I.E.L.D., written by Bob Harras and Paul Neary. To sum up a long story, S.H.I.E.L.D. is infiltrated by an outside, malevolent force that corrupts its policies and practices in such a covert manner that only Nick Fury realizes what is happening. We don't know for sure yet, but it appears that something of that ilk may be happening on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and in the Russo Bros.' Captain America sequel. Clevver Movies spoke to Mulvey about his Marvel role (he plays Jack Rollins, a central S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent in the 1998 comic book story), as well as his role in 300: Rise of an Empire. Mulvey's career is definitely trending in the right direction.
- 3/8/2014
- ComicBookMovie.com
Hot on the heels of Warner Bros. announcing who'll play the Amazon Princess in Justice League Batman Vs. Superman, word is out on who they're considering for the villain role in the Zack Snyder-directed Man of Steel sequel. We still don't know which DC character will provoke the assemblage of Batman, Superman, Nightwing and Wonder Woman (along with supposed cameo appearances by “several other members of the Justice League”), but Variety is reporting that the studio is considering Callan Mulvey, 38, for the part. The Australian actor, who appeared in Zero Dark Thirty last year, will be seen in next year's 300: Rise of an Empire and he also has a villain role (Jack Rollins) in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. As the source suggests Warner Bros. is just “eyeing” Callan Mulvey, there could be other actors in contention. Anyhow, previous rumors suggest that Lex Luther and Doomsday will...
- 12/4/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
The Daily SuperHero has been covering the Cleveland filming for Captain America: The Winter Soldier since Marvel Studios came to town in May for ComicBookMovie.com. Interesting things have been seen, reported and heard while on location and it's time to round-up some plot points from the Memorial Shoreway filming. If you haven't been following The Daily SuperHero's Captain America 2 coverage closely, this is your Spoiler Alert warning. But if you have, then you probably read most of the following plot points that have been covered over the past few weeks. –Prior to the Shoreway scenes, it appears Steve Rogers and the Black Widow are hiding because they are being hunted at a mall (Tower City Center) by a mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team that appears to be led by a tall, dark-haired female (rumored to not be Maria Hill) and has Brock Rumlow and Jack Rollins on the team.
- 6/16/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
I'm not sure if this is spoilerish information or not, but here are a couple new photos from the set of Captain America: The Winter Soldier featuring Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) getting intimate. It looks like they are in disguise and trying to hide out in a crowded place. So the kiss might be to throw people off, but you never know. Maybe the two are going to hook up in the movie.
Below the photos I've included a spoiler filled scene description from Cbm. If you want to read it you can.
Scene description:
Per one of The Daily SuperHero's on location spies, some specifics were told about why Steve Rogers and the Black Widow were incognito in the mall scene wearing a hat and hoodie, respectfully. They are being hunted.
More specifically, Rogers and the Widow are being hunted down by this new S.
Below the photos I've included a spoiler filled scene description from Cbm. If you want to read it you can.
Scene description:
Per one of The Daily SuperHero's on location spies, some specifics were told about why Steve Rogers and the Black Widow were incognito in the mall scene wearing a hat and hoodie, respectfully. They are being hunted.
More specifically, Rogers and the Widow are being hunted down by this new S.
- 6/13/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
It was the kiss that turned the Internet upside down yesterday on the set of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now, ComicBookMovie.com's The Daily SuperHero has been provided some some scene details about this location shoot. So read on if you dare. Per one of The Daily SuperHero's on location spies, some specifics were told about why Steve Rogers and the Black Widow were incognito in the mall scene wearing a hat and hoodie, respectfully. They are being hunted. More specifically, Rogers and the Widow are being hunted down by this new S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team which has Brock Rumlow on it and is rumored to have another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Jack Rollins, on the team too. It was also said that Rumlow is not the "ringleader" as some might be assuming. The leader of this Strike Team was described as a tall,...
- 6/13/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
There have been a lot of set photos leaking out for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but the movie seems to have a lot more to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. than is does The Winter Soldier. Marvel President Kevin Feige has described the film as being more of a "political thriller." Cbm have been putting the pieces together, and it seems the movie is going to be more based on the 1988 comic book series Nick Fury Vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.!
The site came up with six really solid convincing clues that help back up their claim. It was enough to convince me. The clues include details on Callan Mulvey being cast as Jack Rollins, Robert Redford's character Alexander Pierce, and a few other things including the major shootout with Fury that we posted a video of earlier today.
The site came up with six really solid convincing clues that help back up their claim. It was enough to convince me. The clues include details on Callan Mulvey being cast as Jack Rollins, Robert Redford's character Alexander Pierce, and a few other things including the major shootout with Fury that we posted a video of earlier today.
- 5/21/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Amid a press roundtable for the veteran actor’s latest directional effort, political thriller The Company You Keep, Spinoff Online spoke with Robert Redford about his role in Marvel Studios’ own upcoming “political thriller,” Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While his role was reported as a senior leader of the Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)-directed S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, Redford clarifies, “Well, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. The head of S.H.I.E.L.D,” Reiterating why he’s joining the Marvel sequel, he added, “The Captain America thing is just a very simple thing. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something just to be different. Something bold, different. And that felt like a good thing to do. That was it, nothing more to it than that. Well, it’s bold in terms of expectations, I guess.” Meanwhile, IMDb recently added another S.H.I.E.L.
- 4/2/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
With the recent string of excellent myth arc episodes that featured many of the show’s villains and more twists than a Christopher Nolan movie, Person of Interest has finally hit its mid-season lull, the point in the season where the writers start to churn out standalone episodes before ramping things up again in the few episodes leading up to the finale. My only evidence for this is the structure of season 1, which season 2 hasn’t really followed in its own right, so I could be completely wrong. However, “Proteus” was a completely standalone episode, as well as the show’s best impression of a “Whodunnit?” mystery complete with a singular setting, a raging thunderstorm, and several red herrings.
Even with standalone episodes, Person of Interest can usually excel in some department, whether its character development, dialogue, or action choreography. Unfortunately, the entire episode did not...
With the recent string of excellent myth arc episodes that featured many of the show’s villains and more twists than a Christopher Nolan movie, Person of Interest has finally hit its mid-season lull, the point in the season where the writers start to churn out standalone episodes before ramping things up again in the few episodes leading up to the finale. My only evidence for this is the structure of season 1, which season 2 hasn’t really followed in its own right, so I could be completely wrong. However, “Proteus” was a completely standalone episode, as well as the show’s best impression of a “Whodunnit?” mystery complete with a singular setting, a raging thunderstorm, and several red herrings.
Even with standalone episodes, Person of Interest can usually excel in some department, whether its character development, dialogue, or action choreography. Unfortunately, the entire episode did not...
- 3/18/2013
- by Patrick G. Emralino
- Obsessed with Film
A new documentary has everything you always wanted to know about Woody – but is afraid to ask about just one thing
This is the cinema-release version of a PBS documentary which originally ran at over three hours: an intimate, affectionate and warmly celebratory study of the great comedian and film-maker Woody Allen, directed by Robert B Weide, a documentary-maker who has also directed Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. It has fascinating behind-the-scenes footage of Allen directing on location, in the studio, working in the edit suite, and also glorious material on Woody's boyhood and early life that is as compelling as a Philip Roth novel. I watched this engaging film with a great big smile on my face. I don't think anyone with any love for Allen, or the cinema, could fail to do anything else. To see him scribbling scripts on his yellow legal pads or hammering them...
This is the cinema-release version of a PBS documentary which originally ran at over three hours: an intimate, affectionate and warmly celebratory study of the great comedian and film-maker Woody Allen, directed by Robert B Weide, a documentary-maker who has also directed Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. It has fascinating behind-the-scenes footage of Allen directing on location, in the studio, working in the edit suite, and also glorious material on Woody's boyhood and early life that is as compelling as a Philip Roth novel. I watched this engaging film with a great big smile on my face. I don't think anyone with any love for Allen, or the cinema, could fail to do anything else. To see him scribbling scripts on his yellow legal pads or hammering them...
- 6/7/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The first thing to say about the two-part, 3-hour-and-15-minute American Masters special Woody Allen: A Documentary, which airs tonight and tomorrow on PBS, is that it mixes things you already know with things you didn’t know in an avidly enjoyable, Woody-nostalgia way. Here’s something, for instance, that I didn’t know: Allen still does all his writing on the same tiny typewriter he has owned since he was 16 — a German-made Olympia portable that he purchased for $40 in 1952. He’s written all his movies on it, all his plays, and all his New Yorker pieces. The typewriter is missing its top,...
- 11/20/2011
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
By Frazier Moore, The Associated Press
New York — You will see his typewriter, the Olympia portable Woody Allen has used for pounding out everything he's written since his teens.
You will see the contents of the "idea drawer" in his bedside table where he stashes random paper scraps, any of which might inspire his next film.
You will see him in the role of director, both in the distant past and while making his 2010 film, "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" – a remarkable unveiling by an artist known for keeping a locked-down set.
In sum, you will see this legendarily private filmmaker up close and personal, charming and candid, and, yes, funny as he strikes a clear contrast with the neurotic, death- and sex-obsessed Manhattanite he has famously depicted in so many classic films.
Turns out, Woody Allen at heart is a writer.
"Writing is the great life," he...
New York — You will see his typewriter, the Olympia portable Woody Allen has used for pounding out everything he's written since his teens.
You will see the contents of the "idea drawer" in his bedside table where he stashes random paper scraps, any of which might inspire his next film.
You will see him in the role of director, both in the distant past and while making his 2010 film, "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" – a remarkable unveiling by an artist known for keeping a locked-down set.
In sum, you will see this legendarily private filmmaker up close and personal, charming and candid, and, yes, funny as he strikes a clear contrast with the neurotic, death- and sex-obsessed Manhattanite he has famously depicted in so many classic films.
Turns out, Woody Allen at heart is a writer.
"Writing is the great life," he...
- 11/17/2011
- by Gazelle Emami
- Huffington Post
Doing what she can to mend her troubled ways, Lindsay Lohan was spotted enjoying a cup of coffee and a cigarette at the Betty Ford Center with fellow patients and security staff in Rancho Mirage, California on Thursday (September 30).
The sighting comes after the 24-year-old voluntarily checked herself into the treatment facility on Monday (September 27) for a fifth go at alcohol and drug rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, celebs around the globe continue to offer their two cents on the "Mean Girls" starlet's current situation.
Most recently, singing legend Ton Bennett inferred that LiLo is wasting her talents, as he told Page Six, "Everybody has a gift, and these young stars should learn how to celebrate life, feel good about living, and do what they love. It will turn them around, and they won't end up doing something that will kill them."
Bennett continued, "Woody Allen's manager, Jack Rollins, used to handle Lenny Bruce,...
The sighting comes after the 24-year-old voluntarily checked herself into the treatment facility on Monday (September 27) for a fifth go at alcohol and drug rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, celebs around the globe continue to offer their two cents on the "Mean Girls" starlet's current situation.
Most recently, singing legend Ton Bennett inferred that LiLo is wasting her talents, as he told Page Six, "Everybody has a gift, and these young stars should learn how to celebrate life, feel good about living, and do what they love. It will turn them around, and they won't end up doing something that will kill them."
Bennett continued, "Woody Allen's manager, Jack Rollins, used to handle Lenny Bruce,...
- 10/1/2010
- GossipCenter
New York, Oct 01 – Crooning legend Tony Bennett has said that Lindsay Lohan and other artists addicted to drugs are “sinning against their talents.”
“Everybody has a gift, and these young stars should learn how to celebrate life, feel good about living, and do what they love. It will turn them around, and they won’t end up doing something that will kill them,” the New York Post quoted him as saying at his and wife Susan Benedetto’s Exploring the Arts gala.
Bennett, 85, who dabbled with cocaine as a young man, also said, “Woody Allen’s manager, Jack Rollins, used to handle Lenny Bruce, who was a brilliant comedian, but was hooked on heroin. He said something.
“Everybody has a gift, and these young stars should learn how to celebrate life, feel good about living, and do what they love. It will turn them around, and they won’t end up doing something that will kill them,” the New York Post quoted him as saying at his and wife Susan Benedetto’s Exploring the Arts gala.
Bennett, 85, who dabbled with cocaine as a young man, also said, “Woody Allen’s manager, Jack Rollins, used to handle Lenny Bruce, who was a brilliant comedian, but was hooked on heroin. He said something.
- 10/1/2010
- by News
- RealBollywood.com
Movieline is privileged to introduce the first poster for Woody Allen's latest film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, which Sony Pictures Classics will release on Sept. 22. In quintessential Allen style, it's a relatively straightforward affair with an alphabetically listed ensemble and one historic exception: It's the first Allen poster in decades not featuring the name of his late co-producer Charles H. Joffe, who died in 2008. Jack Rollins, meanwhile, is still holding it down. Click through for a glimpse.
- 8/4/2010
- Movieline
Casting director Todd Thaler started as a production assistant for Jack Rollins and Charles Joffe, Woody Allen's producers and personal managers. When they decided to cast all the extras for Allen's films in-house, Thaler was given that responsibility and went on to provide "additional casting" — the unusual faces in the background — for several of Allen's works, starting with The Purple Rose of Cairo. The CD later worked with Barbra Streisand on The Mirror Has Two Faces and John Turturro on Romance & Cigarettes. He cast Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock, for which Harden won an Oscar for best supporting actress, and Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children, for which Haley was Oscar-nominated. Thaler has also cast television shows such as Ed. Back Stage: Do you get to watch for chemistry or do you go by instinct? Todd Thaler: Rarely do I get the opportunity to match up actors before deciding who will be cast.
- 11/13/2008
- by Anna Bengel
- backstage.com
Film Review: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Cannes, Out Of Competition
If Woody Allen's geographical shift from Manhattan to London caused some to see a more serious and philosophical side to him, his progression to Barcelona for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" may, for others, represent a welcome return to the neurotic, impetuous romances of his "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" and even his "Husbands and Wives" periods. Not that "Vicky" is in the category of those Allen classics. But he is not taking himself too seriously here and he is not imposing a story on a foreign city with scant regard for its culture. Boxoffice results should follow the usual pattern with Allen's more successful comedies.
Barcelona and Spanish culture is integral to the storytelling in "Vicky". Which is not to say Allen isn't functioning as a well-informed tourist. The two most hilarious characters, played by Spain's two most famous actors, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, are nothing if not cliches about tempestuous Latin lovers. But, boy, does Allen have fun with those cliches.
Two young American women friends -- no innocents abroad these -- fall into a heady whirlwind of romance, lust and partner variations during a sultry summer in the Catalonian capital. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is the sensible and structured one, already engaged to an equally sensible businessman. Cristina (Allen's current muse, Scarlett Johansson) is fleeing yet another doomed romance in her perpetual search for a happiness she cannot define.
Each falls under the romantic sway of "intense" painter Juan Antonio Bardem). At first glance the epitome of "Eurotrash", it is to Allen's credit that, over the course of the movie, he deepens this character, giving Juan Antonio a dignity and integrity absent in his initial well-oiled moves on the young women.
Juan Antonio and Cristina appear made for each other, but a surprising and unplanned encounter between Juan Antonio and Vicky devastates her life trajectory. Suddenly, all that sense and structure tumbles into a puddle of liquid desire.
Juan Antonio and Cristina do settle into a live-in relationship, but this romance stumbles when his mercurial ex-wife, Maria Elena (Cruz), re-enters his life following a failed suicide attempt.
But strange is the magic that happens next: The couple that could never work as a duo suddenly blossoms as a menage-a-trois!
Allen's love for Barcelona shines in every immaculate image, stunning vista, tender glance down an expansive boulevard or tiny street, reverential gaze at buildings by Gaudi and quick dives into picturesque taverns. Allen imagines a Bohemian subculture of artists and poets, like Paris after World War I or Greenwich Village after World War II, wherein its denizens drink wine and make love into the intoxicating night.
Does Allen in his advancing years see in Barcelona a chance to re-create his Manhattan of old, a city not of Gershwin but of Spanish melodies and guitar music, where once again young neurotics can experiment with lifestyles and embrace art?
Whatever, the film belongs to Bardem and Cruz. This is a Spanish version of "Private Lives", a couple that cannot live apart or together, whose love will always burst into fiery combat. Their scenes are some of the funniest Allen has ever put on film, and the culmination of this love/hate tango is not to be missed.
A voice-over narration for once actually works, urging the story on and slipping us past talk of art and poetry. Javier Auirresarobe's cinematography and Alisa Lepselter's editing are unusually sharp, even by Allen's high standards.
Cast: Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson. Writer-director: Woody Allen. Producers: Letty Aronson, Gareth Wiley, Stephen Tenenbaum. Executive producers: Jaume Roures, Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Javier Mendez. Director of photography: Javier Auirresarobe. Production designer: Alain Bainee. Costume designer: Sonia Grande. Editor: Alisa Lepselter.
Production companies: Weinstein Co., Mediapro & Gravier Production in association with Antena 3 Films & Antena 3 TV present a Dumaine production
Sales: Wild Bunch.
No MPAA rating, 96 minutes.
If Woody Allen's geographical shift from Manhattan to London caused some to see a more serious and philosophical side to him, his progression to Barcelona for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" may, for others, represent a welcome return to the neurotic, impetuous romances of his "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" and even his "Husbands and Wives" periods. Not that "Vicky" is in the category of those Allen classics. But he is not taking himself too seriously here and he is not imposing a story on a foreign city with scant regard for its culture. Boxoffice results should follow the usual pattern with Allen's more successful comedies.
Barcelona and Spanish culture is integral to the storytelling in "Vicky". Which is not to say Allen isn't functioning as a well-informed tourist. The two most hilarious characters, played by Spain's two most famous actors, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, are nothing if not cliches about tempestuous Latin lovers. But, boy, does Allen have fun with those cliches.
Two young American women friends -- no innocents abroad these -- fall into a heady whirlwind of romance, lust and partner variations during a sultry summer in the Catalonian capital. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is the sensible and structured one, already engaged to an equally sensible businessman. Cristina (Allen's current muse, Scarlett Johansson) is fleeing yet another doomed romance in her perpetual search for a happiness she cannot define.
Each falls under the romantic sway of "intense" painter Juan Antonio Bardem). At first glance the epitome of "Eurotrash", it is to Allen's credit that, over the course of the movie, he deepens this character, giving Juan Antonio a dignity and integrity absent in his initial well-oiled moves on the young women.
Juan Antonio and Cristina appear made for each other, but a surprising and unplanned encounter between Juan Antonio and Vicky devastates her life trajectory. Suddenly, all that sense and structure tumbles into a puddle of liquid desire.
Juan Antonio and Cristina do settle into a live-in relationship, but this romance stumbles when his mercurial ex-wife, Maria Elena (Cruz), re-enters his life following a failed suicide attempt.
But strange is the magic that happens next: The couple that could never work as a duo suddenly blossoms as a menage-a-trois!
Allen's love for Barcelona shines in every immaculate image, stunning vista, tender glance down an expansive boulevard or tiny street, reverential gaze at buildings by Gaudi and quick dives into picturesque taverns. Allen imagines a Bohemian subculture of artists and poets, like Paris after World War I or Greenwich Village after World War II, wherein its denizens drink wine and make love into the intoxicating night.
Does Allen in his advancing years see in Barcelona a chance to re-create his Manhattan of old, a city not of Gershwin but of Spanish melodies and guitar music, where once again young neurotics can experiment with lifestyles and embrace art?
Whatever, the film belongs to Bardem and Cruz. This is a Spanish version of "Private Lives", a couple that cannot live apart or together, whose love will always burst into fiery combat. Their scenes are some of the funniest Allen has ever put on film, and the culmination of this love/hate tango is not to be missed.
A voice-over narration for once actually works, urging the story on and slipping us past talk of art and poetry. Javier Auirresarobe's cinematography and Alisa Lepselter's editing are unusually sharp, even by Allen's high standards.
Cast: Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson. Writer-director: Woody Allen. Producers: Letty Aronson, Gareth Wiley, Stephen Tenenbaum. Executive producers: Jaume Roures, Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Javier Mendez. Director of photography: Javier Auirresarobe. Production designer: Alain Bainee. Costume designer: Sonia Grande. Editor: Alisa Lepselter.
Production companies: Weinstein Co., Mediapro & Gravier Production in association with Antena 3 Films & Antena 3 TV present a Dumaine production
Sales: Wild Bunch.
No MPAA rating, 96 minutes.
- 5/17/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, Italy -- Todd Haynes' highly impressionistic docudrama "I'm Not There" is "inspired by the life and work of Bob Dylan," though pop's leading troubadour is not mentioned, barely seen and not heard very much in the production.
Instead, an eclectic mix of actors including Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Richard Gere portray characters whose lives run parallel to or are informed by Dylan's life. There's plenty of the singer-songwriter's music on hand but sung by others. Filled with incidents that echo famous moments in Dylan's life, the goal is to summarize all the disparate elements in his career.
A long film, at 135 minutes, it's difficult to see who the prime audience will be for the picture, screened in competition at the Venice Film Festival. It's a curiosity that could delight or turn off loyal Dylan fans and may prove too oddball to draw in younger and mainstream audiences.
The guiding principal of Dylan's life is declared right at the start as a character who calls himself Woody Guthrie, an 11-year-old black guitar picker played by Marcus Carl Franklin, is advised to "live your own time, child, sing about your own time."
Woody rides the rails and tells stories about the days of the Depression, but in another incarnation, Jack Rollins (Bale), he starts to create the songs that stunned and inspired a generation.
The film jumps all over the place, introducing Arthur (Ben Whishaw), a view of the man as young poet, and then as an actor named Robbie (Ledger), who shows his romantic side. Many scenes are given over to Jude Quinn (Blanchett), the colorful, wisecracking Dylan from the '60s. But then it's back again to Bale, only now he's Pastor John, in a role that illustrates the performer's Christian conversion and decade as a gospel singer.
Finally, there is a passage about Billy the Kid (Gere), who survives his encounter with Sheriff Pat Garrett to live a quiet life in a place named Riddle until events conspire to bring him to public attention again.
Haynes directs all of these people and places with great flair, helped immensely by cinematographer Edward Lachman and his mostly inspired cast. Whishaw, an intense young British stage actor, speaks directly to the camera, while Bale inhabits both the younger Dylan and the religious convert with typical concentration.
Gere is effective in the Western sequence, though that segment's relevance is difficult to grasp. True, Dylan co-starred in Sam Peckinpah's film about William Bonney.
The star of the show is undoubtedly Blanchett, who has great fun playing Dylan as a showboat who quite knowingly goes about creating his reputation for rebellious independence.
Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar put together the musical soundtrack, which features the obscure Dylan title track from "The Basement Tapes", which he recorded with the Band at Woodstock in 1967. There's also a new cover version by Sonic Youth.
The film is said to have the endorsement of Dylan, which must have taken some courage given the ragged edges of his life on display. But the film fits well with his singular ability to reinvent himself while really putting us nowhere nearer to fully understanding the man.
I'M NOT THERE
Killer Films
Director: Todd Haynes
Writers: Todd Haynes, Oren Moverman
Producers: Christine Vachon, James D. Stern, John Sloss, John Goldwyn
Director of photography: Edward Lachman
Production designer: Judy Becker
Music: Randall Poster, Jim Dunbar
Costume designer: John Dunn
Editor: Jay Rabinowitz
Cast:
Jack/Pastor John: Christian Bale
Jude: Cate Blanchett
Woody: Marcus Carl Franklin
Billy: Richard Gere
Robbie: Heath Ledger
Arthur: Ben Whishaw
Claire: Charlotte Gainsbourg
Allen Ginsberg: David Cross
Keenan Jones: Bruce Greenwood
Alice Fabian: Julianne Moore
Coco Rivington: Michelle Williams
MPAA rating R, running time 135 minutes...
VENICE, Italy -- Todd Haynes' highly impressionistic docudrama "I'm Not There" is "inspired by the life and work of Bob Dylan," though pop's leading troubadour is not mentioned, barely seen and not heard very much in the production.
Instead, an eclectic mix of actors including Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Richard Gere portray characters whose lives run parallel to or are informed by Dylan's life. There's plenty of the singer-songwriter's music on hand but sung by others. Filled with incidents that echo famous moments in Dylan's life, the goal is to summarize all the disparate elements in his career.
A long film, at 135 minutes, it's difficult to see who the prime audience will be for the picture, screened in competition at the Venice Film Festival. It's a curiosity that could delight or turn off loyal Dylan fans and may prove too oddball to draw in younger and mainstream audiences.
The guiding principal of Dylan's life is declared right at the start as a character who calls himself Woody Guthrie, an 11-year-old black guitar picker played by Marcus Carl Franklin, is advised to "live your own time, child, sing about your own time."
Woody rides the rails and tells stories about the days of the Depression, but in another incarnation, Jack Rollins (Bale), he starts to create the songs that stunned and inspired a generation.
The film jumps all over the place, introducing Arthur (Ben Whishaw), a view of the man as young poet, and then as an actor named Robbie (Ledger), who shows his romantic side. Many scenes are given over to Jude Quinn (Blanchett), the colorful, wisecracking Dylan from the '60s. But then it's back again to Bale, only now he's Pastor John, in a role that illustrates the performer's Christian conversion and decade as a gospel singer.
Finally, there is a passage about Billy the Kid (Gere), who survives his encounter with Sheriff Pat Garrett to live a quiet life in a place named Riddle until events conspire to bring him to public attention again.
Haynes directs all of these people and places with great flair, helped immensely by cinematographer Edward Lachman and his mostly inspired cast. Whishaw, an intense young British stage actor, speaks directly to the camera, while Bale inhabits both the younger Dylan and the religious convert with typical concentration.
Gere is effective in the Western sequence, though that segment's relevance is difficult to grasp. True, Dylan co-starred in Sam Peckinpah's film about William Bonney.
The star of the show is undoubtedly Blanchett, who has great fun playing Dylan as a showboat who quite knowingly goes about creating his reputation for rebellious independence.
Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar put together the musical soundtrack, which features the obscure Dylan title track from "The Basement Tapes", which he recorded with the Band at Woodstock in 1967. There's also a new cover version by Sonic Youth.
The film is said to have the endorsement of Dylan, which must have taken some courage given the ragged edges of his life on display. But the film fits well with his singular ability to reinvent himself while really putting us nowhere nearer to fully understanding the man.
I'M NOT THERE
Killer Films
Director: Todd Haynes
Writers: Todd Haynes, Oren Moverman
Producers: Christine Vachon, James D. Stern, John Sloss, John Goldwyn
Director of photography: Edward Lachman
Production designer: Judy Becker
Music: Randall Poster, Jim Dunbar
Costume designer: John Dunn
Editor: Jay Rabinowitz
Cast:
Jack/Pastor John: Christian Bale
Jude: Cate Blanchett
Woody: Marcus Carl Franklin
Billy: Richard Gere
Robbie: Heath Ledger
Arthur: Ben Whishaw
Claire: Charlotte Gainsbourg
Allen Ginsberg: David Cross
Keenan Jones: Bruce Greenwood
Alice Fabian: Julianne Moore
Coco Rivington: Michelle Williams
MPAA rating R, running time 135 minutes...
This review was written for the festival screening of "Cassandra's Dream."Venice International Film Festival (Venice Masters)
VENICE, Italy -- Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream" is a humorless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson while continuing the mystery of Colin Farrell's appeal to major filmmakers.
As writer, Allen offers lazy plotting, poor characterization, dull scenes and flat dialogue. As director, he makes no demands on the abundant talents of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Philip Glass. He employs predictable and illogical London and countryside locations. And he abandons good players to do what they can with the material at hand while allowing Farrell to mumble his way through another indifferent performance.
The film, screened in the Venice Masters sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival, has minimal boxoffice prospects, and only McGregor and Allen completists are likely to want it on their DVD shelf.
McGregor and Farrell play unlikely brothers who become enmeshed in a plot by a rich uncle to murder a disgruntled employee whose testimony in court could send him to prison for life. Ian (McGregor) is a clean-cut dreamer who helps his worn-down father run a small restaurant and borrows fancy cars to impress women. Terry Farrell) is an unshaven lout who works as a car mechanic, drinks too much and likes to bet on the ponies.
Nevertheless, the brothers are able to pool resources for the purchase of a good-looking boat that they name "Cassandra's Dream" after a horse that recently came in for Terry.
Even with this outlay, Ian is able to make plans to invest in a scheme to build hotels in California and to woo a beautiful young actress named Angela (Atwell). And Terry finances a home for his bubbly wife Kate (Sally Hawkins) and buys a seat in a big-time poker game.
When Terry loses 90,000 pounds at poker, they turn in desperation to fabulously wealthy Uncle Howard Wilkinson) who just happens to be visiting London from his sumptuous home in Los Angeles where he oversees a global chain of plastic surgery clinics.
Uncle Howard is willing to pay off Terry's debts and provide the funds for Ian's hotel dreams if they will do him a little favor. His empire is about to come crashing down and he will go to jail unless he can prevent a man named Martin Burns (Phil Davis) from testifying. He has to be killed. "I see no alternative", says Uncle Howard.
At first unwilling, the brothers talk themselves into the crime and the rest of the picture follows their attempts at murder and its dire consequences. But it is played out with not a shred of wit or tension. Key plot points beggar belief: that jittery, pill-taking Terry knows how to play poker or that any loan-shark would allow him to build up such a huge debt; that Uncle Howard, having global resources including businesses in China, would have to resort to his witless nephews to get him out of a jam; and that two basically decent and humble blokes would so readily commit murder.
It's all contrivance, and Allen does none of the things required in a movie to establish verisimilitude. There's no comment on the lives of the two young men and scenes involving Atwell and her theatrical chums have no bite. Atwell is a major find, however, and like McGregor and Wilkinson, and the rest of a good cast, will go on to better things. Where Allen and Farrell go now is a sadder question.
CASSANDRA'S DREAM
Wild Bunch
An Iberville production
Director, writer: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua, Daniel Wuhrman
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Maria Djurkovic
Music: Philip Glass
Co-producers: Helen Robin, Nicky Kentish Barnes
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Ian: Ewan McGregor
Terry: Colin Farrell
Angela: Hayley Atwell
Kate: Sally Hawkins
Howard: Tom Wilkinson
Martin Burns: Phil Davis
Father: John Benfield
Mother: Clare Higgins
Boat owner: Peter Hugo-Daly
Lucy: Ashley Medekwe
Jerry: Andrew Howard
Terry's track mate: Keith Smee
Mel: Stephen Noonan
Fred: Dan Carter
Director: Richard Lintern
Helen: Jennifer Higham
Mike: Lee Whitlock
Estate agent: Michael Harm
Dora: Emily Gilchrist
Bernard: George Richmond
Burns' mother: Phyllis Roberts
Burns' date: Tamzin Outhwaite
Angela's mother: Cate Fowler
Angela's father: David Horovitch
Jaguar owner: Matt Bardock
Garage boss: Jim Carter
Nigel: Paul Gardner
Eisley: Mark Umbers
Servant: Maggie McCarthy
Poker players: Hugh Rathbone, Allan Ramsey, Paul Davis, Terry Budin Jones, Franck Viano, Tommy Mack, Milo Bodrozic
Detectives: Richard Graham, Ross Boatman
No MPAA rating, running time 108 minutes.
VENICE, Italy -- Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream" is a humorless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson while continuing the mystery of Colin Farrell's appeal to major filmmakers.
As writer, Allen offers lazy plotting, poor characterization, dull scenes and flat dialogue. As director, he makes no demands on the abundant talents of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Philip Glass. He employs predictable and illogical London and countryside locations. And he abandons good players to do what they can with the material at hand while allowing Farrell to mumble his way through another indifferent performance.
The film, screened in the Venice Masters sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival, has minimal boxoffice prospects, and only McGregor and Allen completists are likely to want it on their DVD shelf.
McGregor and Farrell play unlikely brothers who become enmeshed in a plot by a rich uncle to murder a disgruntled employee whose testimony in court could send him to prison for life. Ian (McGregor) is a clean-cut dreamer who helps his worn-down father run a small restaurant and borrows fancy cars to impress women. Terry Farrell) is an unshaven lout who works as a car mechanic, drinks too much and likes to bet on the ponies.
Nevertheless, the brothers are able to pool resources for the purchase of a good-looking boat that they name "Cassandra's Dream" after a horse that recently came in for Terry.
Even with this outlay, Ian is able to make plans to invest in a scheme to build hotels in California and to woo a beautiful young actress named Angela (Atwell). And Terry finances a home for his bubbly wife Kate (Sally Hawkins) and buys a seat in a big-time poker game.
When Terry loses 90,000 pounds at poker, they turn in desperation to fabulously wealthy Uncle Howard Wilkinson) who just happens to be visiting London from his sumptuous home in Los Angeles where he oversees a global chain of plastic surgery clinics.
Uncle Howard is willing to pay off Terry's debts and provide the funds for Ian's hotel dreams if they will do him a little favor. His empire is about to come crashing down and he will go to jail unless he can prevent a man named Martin Burns (Phil Davis) from testifying. He has to be killed. "I see no alternative", says Uncle Howard.
At first unwilling, the brothers talk themselves into the crime and the rest of the picture follows their attempts at murder and its dire consequences. But it is played out with not a shred of wit or tension. Key plot points beggar belief: that jittery, pill-taking Terry knows how to play poker or that any loan-shark would allow him to build up such a huge debt; that Uncle Howard, having global resources including businesses in China, would have to resort to his witless nephews to get him out of a jam; and that two basically decent and humble blokes would so readily commit murder.
It's all contrivance, and Allen does none of the things required in a movie to establish verisimilitude. There's no comment on the lives of the two young men and scenes involving Atwell and her theatrical chums have no bite. Atwell is a major find, however, and like McGregor and Wilkinson, and the rest of a good cast, will go on to better things. Where Allen and Farrell go now is a sadder question.
CASSANDRA'S DREAM
Wild Bunch
An Iberville production
Director, writer: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua, Daniel Wuhrman
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Maria Djurkovic
Music: Philip Glass
Co-producers: Helen Robin, Nicky Kentish Barnes
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Ian: Ewan McGregor
Terry: Colin Farrell
Angela: Hayley Atwell
Kate: Sally Hawkins
Howard: Tom Wilkinson
Martin Burns: Phil Davis
Father: John Benfield
Mother: Clare Higgins
Boat owner: Peter Hugo-Daly
Lucy: Ashley Medekwe
Jerry: Andrew Howard
Terry's track mate: Keith Smee
Mel: Stephen Noonan
Fred: Dan Carter
Director: Richard Lintern
Helen: Jennifer Higham
Mike: Lee Whitlock
Estate agent: Michael Harm
Dora: Emily Gilchrist
Bernard: George Richmond
Burns' mother: Phyllis Roberts
Burns' date: Tamzin Outhwaite
Angela's mother: Cate Fowler
Angela's father: David Horovitch
Jaguar owner: Matt Bardock
Garage boss: Jim Carter
Nigel: Paul Gardner
Eisley: Mark Umbers
Servant: Maggie McCarthy
Poker players: Hugh Rathbone, Allan Ramsey, Paul Davis, Terry Budin Jones, Franck Viano, Tommy Mack, Milo Bodrozic
Detectives: Richard Graham, Ross Boatman
No MPAA rating, running time 108 minutes.
Venice International Film Festival (Venice Masters)
VENICE, Italy -- Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream is a humorless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson while continuing the mystery of Colin Farrell's appeal to major filmmakers.
As writer, Allen offers lazy plotting, poor characterization, dull scenes and flat dialogue. As director, he makes no demands on the abundant talents of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Philip Glass. He employs predictable and illogical London and countryside locations. And he abandons good players to do what they can with the material at hand while allowing Farrell to mumble his way through another indifferent performance.
The film, screened in the Venice Masters sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival, has minimal boxoffice prospects, and only McGregor and Allen completists are likely to want it on their DVD shelf.
McGregor and Farrell play unlikely brothers who become enmeshed in a plot by a rich uncle to murder a disgruntled employee whose testimony in court could send him to prison for life. Ian (McGregor) is a clean-cut dreamer who helps his worn-down father run a small restaurant and borrows fancy cars to impress women. Terry Farrell) is an unshaven lout who works as a car mechanic, drinks too much and likes to bet on the ponies.
Nevertheless, the brothers are able to pool resources for the purchase of a good-looking boat that they name "Cassandra's Dream" after a horse that recently came in for Terry.
Even with this outlay, Ian is able to make plans to invest in a scheme to build hotels in California and to woo a beautiful young actress named Angela (Atwell). And Terry finances a home for his bubbly wife Kate (Sally Hawkins) and buys a seat in a big-time poker game.
When Terry loses 90,000 pounds at poker, they turn in desperation to fabulously wealthy Uncle Howard Wilkinson) who just happens to be visiting London from his sumptuous home in Los Angeles where he oversees a global chain of plastic surgery clinics.
Uncle Howard is willing to pay off Terry's debts and provide the funds for Ian's hotel dreams if they will do him a little favor. His empire is about to come crashing down and he will go to jail unless he can prevent a man named Martin Burns (Phil Davis) from testifying. He has to be killed. I see no alternative, says Uncle Howard.
At first unwilling, the brothers talk themselves into the crime and the rest of the picture follows their attempts at murder and its dire consequences. But it is played out with not a shred of wit or tension. Key plot points beggar belief: that jittery, pill-taking Terry knows how to play poker or that any loan-shark would allow him to build up such a huge debt; that Uncle Howard, having global resources including businesses in China, would have to resort to his witless nephews to get him out of a jam; and that two basically decent and humble blokes would so readily commit murder.
It's all contrivance, and Allen does none of the things required in a movie to establish verisimilitude. There's no comment on the lives of the two young men and scenes involving Atwell and her theatrical chums have no bite. Atwell is a major find, however, and like McGregor and Wilkinson, and the rest of a good cast, will go on to better things. Where Allen and Farrell go now is a sadder question.
CASSANDRA'S DREAM
Wild Bunch
An Iberville production
Director, writer: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua, Daniel Wuhrman
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Maria Djurkovic
Music: Philip Glass
Co-producers: Helen Robin, Nicky Kentish Barnes
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Ian: Ewan McGregor
Terry: Colin Farrell
Angela: Hayley Atwell
Kate: Sally Hawkins
Howard: Tom Wilkinson
Martin Burns: Phil Davis
Father: John Benfield
Mother: Clare Higgins
Boat owner: Peter Hugo-Daly
Lucy: Ashley Medekwe
Jerry: Andrew Howard
Terry's track mate: Keith Smee
Mel: Stephen Noonan
Fred: Dan Carter
Director: Richard Lintern
Helen: Jennifer Higham
Mike: Lee Whitlock
Estate agent: Michael Harm
Dora: Emily Gilchrist
Bernard: George Richmond
Burns' mother: Phyllis Roberts
Burns' date: Tamzin Outhwaite
Angela's mother: Cate Fowler
Angela's father: David Horovitch
Jaguar owner: Matt Bardock
Garage boss: Jim Carter
Nigel: Paul Gardner
Eisley: Mark Umbers
Servant: Maggie McCarthy
Poker players: Hugh Rathbone, Allan Ramsey, Paul Davis, Terry Budin Jones, Franck Viano, Tommy Mack, Milo Bodrozic
Detectives: Richard Graham, Ross Boatman
No MPAA rating, running time 108 minutes.
VENICE, Italy -- Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream is a humorless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson while continuing the mystery of Colin Farrell's appeal to major filmmakers.
As writer, Allen offers lazy plotting, poor characterization, dull scenes and flat dialogue. As director, he makes no demands on the abundant talents of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Philip Glass. He employs predictable and illogical London and countryside locations. And he abandons good players to do what they can with the material at hand while allowing Farrell to mumble his way through another indifferent performance.
The film, screened in the Venice Masters sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival, has minimal boxoffice prospects, and only McGregor and Allen completists are likely to want it on their DVD shelf.
McGregor and Farrell play unlikely brothers who become enmeshed in a plot by a rich uncle to murder a disgruntled employee whose testimony in court could send him to prison for life. Ian (McGregor) is a clean-cut dreamer who helps his worn-down father run a small restaurant and borrows fancy cars to impress women. Terry Farrell) is an unshaven lout who works as a car mechanic, drinks too much and likes to bet on the ponies.
Nevertheless, the brothers are able to pool resources for the purchase of a good-looking boat that they name "Cassandra's Dream" after a horse that recently came in for Terry.
Even with this outlay, Ian is able to make plans to invest in a scheme to build hotels in California and to woo a beautiful young actress named Angela (Atwell). And Terry finances a home for his bubbly wife Kate (Sally Hawkins) and buys a seat in a big-time poker game.
When Terry loses 90,000 pounds at poker, they turn in desperation to fabulously wealthy Uncle Howard Wilkinson) who just happens to be visiting London from his sumptuous home in Los Angeles where he oversees a global chain of plastic surgery clinics.
Uncle Howard is willing to pay off Terry's debts and provide the funds for Ian's hotel dreams if they will do him a little favor. His empire is about to come crashing down and he will go to jail unless he can prevent a man named Martin Burns (Phil Davis) from testifying. He has to be killed. I see no alternative, says Uncle Howard.
At first unwilling, the brothers talk themselves into the crime and the rest of the picture follows their attempts at murder and its dire consequences. But it is played out with not a shred of wit or tension. Key plot points beggar belief: that jittery, pill-taking Terry knows how to play poker or that any loan-shark would allow him to build up such a huge debt; that Uncle Howard, having global resources including businesses in China, would have to resort to his witless nephews to get him out of a jam; and that two basically decent and humble blokes would so readily commit murder.
It's all contrivance, and Allen does none of the things required in a movie to establish verisimilitude. There's no comment on the lives of the two young men and scenes involving Atwell and her theatrical chums have no bite. Atwell is a major find, however, and like McGregor and Wilkinson, and the rest of a good cast, will go on to better things. Where Allen and Farrell go now is a sadder question.
CASSANDRA'S DREAM
Wild Bunch
An Iberville production
Director, writer: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua, Daniel Wuhrman
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Maria Djurkovic
Music: Philip Glass
Co-producers: Helen Robin, Nicky Kentish Barnes
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Ian: Ewan McGregor
Terry: Colin Farrell
Angela: Hayley Atwell
Kate: Sally Hawkins
Howard: Tom Wilkinson
Martin Burns: Phil Davis
Father: John Benfield
Mother: Clare Higgins
Boat owner: Peter Hugo-Daly
Lucy: Ashley Medekwe
Jerry: Andrew Howard
Terry's track mate: Keith Smee
Mel: Stephen Noonan
Fred: Dan Carter
Director: Richard Lintern
Helen: Jennifer Higham
Mike: Lee Whitlock
Estate agent: Michael Harm
Dora: Emily Gilchrist
Bernard: George Richmond
Burns' mother: Phyllis Roberts
Burns' date: Tamzin Outhwaite
Angela's mother: Cate Fowler
Angela's father: David Horovitch
Jaguar owner: Matt Bardock
Garage boss: Jim Carter
Nigel: Paul Gardner
Eisley: Mark Umbers
Servant: Maggie McCarthy
Poker players: Hugh Rathbone, Allan Ramsey, Paul Davis, Terry Budin Jones, Franck Viano, Tommy Mack, Milo Bodrozic
Detectives: Richard Graham, Ross Boatman
No MPAA rating, running time 108 minutes.
Despite its almost jaunty title, "Match Point" is Woody Allen's attempt at a kind of "Crime and Punishment". In his 70th year, Allen has engineered the most startling departure in his filmmaking career. He has made serious dramas, notably during his Bermanesque period. But never before has he worked in a foreign country or looked into tragic events for philosophical understanding.
The film undoubtedly will find a domestic distributor, but how his normal fans will react to the (mostly) comedic writer-director exploring such new territory is anybody's guess. The film certainly represents a marketing challenge in North America but might actually do better boxoffice in Europe.
The story is set in contemporary England, but it feels more like England several decades ago. It also feels like the work of an outsider, whose knowledge of the country, customs and class system derives from movies and novels rather than experience. Production designer Jim Clay's polished interiors and locations in the Tate Modern and other new galleries certainly make things appear modern-day. But Allen's tale of a poor Irish lad's social climbing via marriage and the beautiful American actress who comes between him and his wife feels distinctly retro.
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro who leaves the circuit when he realizes he isn't good enough. He gets a job teaching tennis to wealthy clients at a posh London club. Here he meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), and they discover a mutual interest in opera. An invitation from Tom to join him in the family opera box allows Chris to meet Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), a pleasant and sweet woman, who quickly develops a romantic interest in the handsome tennis coach. Chris soon obliges her, more out of friendliness than any grand passion.
That passion does spark when he meets Tom's fiancee, the moody and provocative Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson). She drinks a bit -- most of the characters display fondness for alcohol -- so when Chris catches Nola in the right mood and moment, they have a fling.
Tom eventually jilts Nola, but by then Chris has married Chloe and landed a cushy job in her father's firm. Chloe desperately wants to get pregnant but has no luck. Fate has Chris run into Nola a year later. Their affair resumes, and soon -- and somewhat predictably -- the wrong woman gets pregnant.
Pressure builds on Chris to do "the right thing." But this would require his surrender of a luxurious lifestyle to which he has grown quite accustomed. He secretly borrows one of his father-in-law's shotguns. Like the adulterous ophthalmologist in Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors", Chris faces a moral dilemma: destruction of his life or murder.
Allen's key philosophical interest here is the notion that luck or fate plays a larger role in our lives than we believe and that justice itself is often a matter of luck. Certainly, injustice occurs more frequently.
Allen doesn't portray the characters with much depth. Chris, his protagonist, is the most detailed character, of course, but we never are sure what drives him. He more or less falls into his marriage and job; we certainly sense no burning ambition or steely determination that would lead him to contemplate such a radical act as murder.
Nola possesses plenty of sexual allure, but she never is seen taking advantage of it. If anything, it causes her much grief.
The Hewett siblings are nice sorts, neither overly impressed with their wealth nor abusive toward others. Their father (Brian Cox) and mother (Penelope Wilton) are vivid though light sketches.
Scenes involving Chris' business dealings and later police procedures feel inauthentic. So "Match Point" is a story designed more to prove a philosophical point than to examine a social milieu or a particular cast of characters.
Another factor might explain the sketchiness of these characters: In his movies, Allen explores so much character through comedy that when he denies himself funny lines or physical comedy, his characters lack dimension. They feel soulless, reacting more to the dictates of the story than to inner impulses and desires.
Production values, as one expects from a Woody Allen movie, are impeccable, with opera supplying the only music on the soundtrack.
MATCH POINT
BBC Films and Thema Prods. present a Jada production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Lucy Darwin, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Stephen Tenenbaum
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: Jim Clay
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Nola Rice: Scarlett Johansson
Chris Wilton: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Chloe Hewett Wilton: Emily Mortimer
Tom Hewett: Matthew Goode
Alec Hewett: Brian Cox
Eleanor Hewett: Penelope Wilton
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
The film undoubtedly will find a domestic distributor, but how his normal fans will react to the (mostly) comedic writer-director exploring such new territory is anybody's guess. The film certainly represents a marketing challenge in North America but might actually do better boxoffice in Europe.
The story is set in contemporary England, but it feels more like England several decades ago. It also feels like the work of an outsider, whose knowledge of the country, customs and class system derives from movies and novels rather than experience. Production designer Jim Clay's polished interiors and locations in the Tate Modern and other new galleries certainly make things appear modern-day. But Allen's tale of a poor Irish lad's social climbing via marriage and the beautiful American actress who comes between him and his wife feels distinctly retro.
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro who leaves the circuit when he realizes he isn't good enough. He gets a job teaching tennis to wealthy clients at a posh London club. Here he meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), and they discover a mutual interest in opera. An invitation from Tom to join him in the family opera box allows Chris to meet Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), a pleasant and sweet woman, who quickly develops a romantic interest in the handsome tennis coach. Chris soon obliges her, more out of friendliness than any grand passion.
That passion does spark when he meets Tom's fiancee, the moody and provocative Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson). She drinks a bit -- most of the characters display fondness for alcohol -- so when Chris catches Nola in the right mood and moment, they have a fling.
Tom eventually jilts Nola, but by then Chris has married Chloe and landed a cushy job in her father's firm. Chloe desperately wants to get pregnant but has no luck. Fate has Chris run into Nola a year later. Their affair resumes, and soon -- and somewhat predictably -- the wrong woman gets pregnant.
Pressure builds on Chris to do "the right thing." But this would require his surrender of a luxurious lifestyle to which he has grown quite accustomed. He secretly borrows one of his father-in-law's shotguns. Like the adulterous ophthalmologist in Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors", Chris faces a moral dilemma: destruction of his life or murder.
Allen's key philosophical interest here is the notion that luck or fate plays a larger role in our lives than we believe and that justice itself is often a matter of luck. Certainly, injustice occurs more frequently.
Allen doesn't portray the characters with much depth. Chris, his protagonist, is the most detailed character, of course, but we never are sure what drives him. He more or less falls into his marriage and job; we certainly sense no burning ambition or steely determination that would lead him to contemplate such a radical act as murder.
Nola possesses plenty of sexual allure, but she never is seen taking advantage of it. If anything, it causes her much grief.
The Hewett siblings are nice sorts, neither overly impressed with their wealth nor abusive toward others. Their father (Brian Cox) and mother (Penelope Wilton) are vivid though light sketches.
Scenes involving Chris' business dealings and later police procedures feel inauthentic. So "Match Point" is a story designed more to prove a philosophical point than to examine a social milieu or a particular cast of characters.
Another factor might explain the sketchiness of these characters: In his movies, Allen explores so much character through comedy that when he denies himself funny lines or physical comedy, his characters lack dimension. They feel soulless, reacting more to the dictates of the story than to inner impulses and desires.
Production values, as one expects from a Woody Allen movie, are impeccable, with opera supplying the only music on the soundtrack.
MATCH POINT
BBC Films and Thema Prods. present a Jada production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Lucy Darwin, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Stephen Tenenbaum
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: Jim Clay
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Nola Rice: Scarlett Johansson
Chris Wilton: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Chloe Hewett Wilton: Emily Mortimer
Tom Hewett: Matthew Goode
Alec Hewett: Brian Cox
Eleanor Hewett: Penelope Wilton
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
- 12/30/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Despite its almost jaunty title, Match Point is Woody Allen's attempt at a kind of Crime and Punishment. In his 70th year, Allen has engineered the most startling departure in his filmmaking career. He has made serious dramas, notably during his Bermanesque period. But never before has he worked in a foreign country or looked into tragic events for philosophical understanding.
The film undoubtedly will find a domestic distributor, but how his normal fans will react to the (mostly) comedic writer-director exploring such new territory is anybody's guess. The film certainly represents a marketing challenge in North America but might actually do better boxoffice in Europe.
The story is set in contemporary England, but it feels more like England several decades ago. It also feels like the work of an outsider, whose knowledge of the country, customs and class system derives from movies and novels rather than experience. Production designer Jim Clay's polished interiors and locations in the Tate Modern and other new galleries certainly make things appear modern-day. But Allen's tale of a poor Irish lad's social climbing via marriage and the beautiful American actress who comes between him and his wife feels distinctly retro.
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro who leaves the circuit when he realizes he isn't good enough. He gets a job teaching tennis to wealthy clients at a posh London club. Here he meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), and they discover a mutual interest in opera. An invitation from Tom to join him in the family opera box allows Chris to meet Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), a pleasant and sweet woman, who quickly develops a romantic interest in the handsome tennis coach. Chris soon obliges her, more out of friendliness than any grand passion.
That passion does spark when he meets Tom's fiancee, the moody and provocative Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson). She drinks a bit -- most of the characters display fondness for alcohol -- so when Chris catches Nola in the right mood and moment, they have a fling.
Tom eventually jilts Nola, but by then Chris has married Chloe and landed a cushy job in her father's firm. Chloe desperately wants to get pregnant but has no luck. Fate has Chris run into Nola a year later. Their affair resumes, and soon -- and somewhat predictably -- the wrong woman gets pregnant.
Pressure builds on Chris to do "the right thing." But this would require his surrender of a luxurious lifestyle to which he has grown quite accustomed. He secretly borrows one of his father-in-law's shotguns. Like the adulterous ophthalmologist in Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors, Chris faces a moral dilemma: destruction of his life or murder.
Allen's key philosophical interest here is the notion that luck or fate plays a larger role in our lives than we believe and that justice itself is often a matter of luck. Certainly, injustice occurs more frequently.
Allen doesn't portray the characters with much depth. Chris, his protagonist, is the most detailed character, of course, but we never are sure what drives him. He more or less falls into his marriage and job; we certainly sense no burning ambition or steely determination that would lead him to contemplate such a radical act as murder.
Nola possesses plenty of sexual allure, but she never is seen taking advantage of it. If anything, it causes her much grief.
The Hewett siblings are nice sorts, neither overly impressed with their wealth nor abusive toward others. Their father (Brian Cox) and mother (Penelope Wilton) are vivid though light sketches.
Scenes involving Chris' business dealings and later police procedures feel inauthentic. So Match Point is a story designed more to prove a philosophical point than to examine a social milieu or a particular cast of characters.
Another factor might explain the sketchiness of these characters: In his movies, Allen explores so much character through comedy that when he denies himself funny lines or physical comedy, his characters lack dimension. They feel soulless, reacting more to the dictates of the story than to inner impulses and desires.
Production values, as one expects from a Woody Allen movie, are impeccable, with opera supplying the only music on the soundtrack.
MATCH POINT
BBC Films and Thema Prods. present a Jada production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Lucy Darwin, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Stephen Tenenbaum
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: Jim Clay
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Nola Rice: Scarlett Johansson
Chris Wilton: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Chloe Hewett Wilton: Emily Mortimer
Tom Hewett: Matthew Goode
Alec Hewett: Brian Cox
Eleanor Hewett: Penelope Wilton
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
The film undoubtedly will find a domestic distributor, but how his normal fans will react to the (mostly) comedic writer-director exploring such new territory is anybody's guess. The film certainly represents a marketing challenge in North America but might actually do better boxoffice in Europe.
The story is set in contemporary England, but it feels more like England several decades ago. It also feels like the work of an outsider, whose knowledge of the country, customs and class system derives from movies and novels rather than experience. Production designer Jim Clay's polished interiors and locations in the Tate Modern and other new galleries certainly make things appear modern-day. But Allen's tale of a poor Irish lad's social climbing via marriage and the beautiful American actress who comes between him and his wife feels distinctly retro.
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro who leaves the circuit when he realizes he isn't good enough. He gets a job teaching tennis to wealthy clients at a posh London club. Here he meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), and they discover a mutual interest in opera. An invitation from Tom to join him in the family opera box allows Chris to meet Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), a pleasant and sweet woman, who quickly develops a romantic interest in the handsome tennis coach. Chris soon obliges her, more out of friendliness than any grand passion.
That passion does spark when he meets Tom's fiancee, the moody and provocative Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson). She drinks a bit -- most of the characters display fondness for alcohol -- so when Chris catches Nola in the right mood and moment, they have a fling.
Tom eventually jilts Nola, but by then Chris has married Chloe and landed a cushy job in her father's firm. Chloe desperately wants to get pregnant but has no luck. Fate has Chris run into Nola a year later. Their affair resumes, and soon -- and somewhat predictably -- the wrong woman gets pregnant.
Pressure builds on Chris to do "the right thing." But this would require his surrender of a luxurious lifestyle to which he has grown quite accustomed. He secretly borrows one of his father-in-law's shotguns. Like the adulterous ophthalmologist in Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors, Chris faces a moral dilemma: destruction of his life or murder.
Allen's key philosophical interest here is the notion that luck or fate plays a larger role in our lives than we believe and that justice itself is often a matter of luck. Certainly, injustice occurs more frequently.
Allen doesn't portray the characters with much depth. Chris, his protagonist, is the most detailed character, of course, but we never are sure what drives him. He more or less falls into his marriage and job; we certainly sense no burning ambition or steely determination that would lead him to contemplate such a radical act as murder.
Nola possesses plenty of sexual allure, but she never is seen taking advantage of it. If anything, it causes her much grief.
The Hewett siblings are nice sorts, neither overly impressed with their wealth nor abusive toward others. Their father (Brian Cox) and mother (Penelope Wilton) are vivid though light sketches.
Scenes involving Chris' business dealings and later police procedures feel inauthentic. So Match Point is a story designed more to prove a philosophical point than to examine a social milieu or a particular cast of characters.
Another factor might explain the sketchiness of these characters: In his movies, Allen explores so much character through comedy that when he denies himself funny lines or physical comedy, his characters lack dimension. They feel soulless, reacting more to the dictates of the story than to inner impulses and desires.
Production values, as one expects from a Woody Allen movie, are impeccable, with opera supplying the only music on the soundtrack.
MATCH POINT
BBC Films and Thema Prods. present a Jada production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Producers: Letty Aronson, Lucy Darwin, Gareth Wiley
Executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Stephen Tenenbaum
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: Jim Clay
Costume designer: Jill Taylor
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Nola Rice: Scarlett Johansson
Chris Wilton: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Chloe Hewett Wilton: Emily Mortimer
Tom Hewett: Matthew Goode
Alec Hewett: Brian Cox
Eleanor Hewett: Penelope Wilton
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 124 minutes...
- 5/12/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In his most substantial and satisfying feature since 1999's Sweet and Lowdown, Woody Allen revisits favorite themes: storytelling, love and duplicity, the neuroses of hyperarticulate but emotionally lost Manhattanites. Using a simple hook that intertwines two versions of the same story, he's created a memorable ensemble piece with Radha Mitchell especially compelling in the dual roles that drive Melinda and Melinda. Allen First's film for Fox Searchlight should draw the best reviews and business the writer-director has seen in a while.
Across a restaurant table, friends debate whether life is essentially comic or tragic. The writer of successful comedies, Sy (Wallace Shawn), believes people seek laughter to escape pain; Max (Larry Pine), who trusts in the power of tragedy, argues that life is absurd. By way of example, each spins a tale based on an anecdote about an uninvited guest. From here, the film alternates between Sy's romantic comedy and Max's tragic saga of a lonely soul, returning occasionally to the storytellers themselves.
As the twin stories play out, echoing each other and at times almost blending together (it takes a little work to stay oriented), the line between comedy and tragedy feels increasingly arbitrary, more a matter of style than dramatic ingredients. Melinda's moral edge recalls Husbands and Wives and Crimes and Misdemeanors, and the comedy keeps the film from tipping into unrelieved dark territory, even if Allen's script lacks for-the-ages one-liners.
In both tellings, the uninvited guest is Melinda (Radha Mitchell), a woman at loose ends. In the dramatic version, she's got a wavy bob and subsists on pills, white wine and cigarettes, traumatized by a difficult divorce in which she lost custody of her children. After being hospitalized for a suicide attempt, she arrives at the downtown loft of old friend Laurel (Chloe Sevigny) and Laurel's peevish actor husband, Lee Jonny Lee Miller), who isn't thrilled about sharing their pad with someone who's "nuts." Laurel welcomes the break in routine as respite from a troubled marriage.
Uptown, the smooth-coiffed Melinda interrupts her neighbors' dinner party after ingesting 28 sleeping pills. Out-of-work actor and neglected husband Hobie (Will Ferrell, taking a while to warm up as the Allen surrogate) finds himself enchanted by the lovely would-be suicide. His filmmaker wife, Susan (Amanda Peet), barely notices his crush as she pursues a financier for her new project, The Castration Sonata -- a film that, she promises, will put "male sexuality in perspective."
Susan fixes up Melinda with handsome dentist Greg (Josh Brolin), prompting a jealousy-fueled barrage of put-downs from Hobie, which Ferrell puts across with Allenesque inflection. (He also delivers one of the all-time funniest movie reactions to spousal infidelity.) The other Melinda, whom friend Cassie (Brooke Smith) sets up with a widowed dentist, instead falls for the dangerously charming musician Ellis (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Mitchell's nuanced intensity as the vulnerable Melinda, especially in her more high-strung incarnation, is key to the film's success. Another standout is Sevigny, whose Park Avenue-bred Laurel is a beautifully restrained, complex portrait of unhappiness.
Tech contributions are aces, led by Santo Loquasto's elegant production design and veteran cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond's striking ocher palette with noirish touches. From the swing of Take the 'A' Train to the emotional depths of Bartok, the jazz and classical selections are perfect enhancements.
MELINDA AND MELINDA
Fox Searchlight
A Gravier production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Executive producer: Steven Tenenbaum
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Co-producer: Helen Robin
Costume designer: Judy Ruskin Howell
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Melinda: Radha Mitchell
Hobie: Will Ferrell
Laurel: Chloe Sevigny
Ellis: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Lee: Jonny Lee Miller
Cassie: Brooke Smith
Susan: Amanda Peet
Sy: Wallace Shawn
Max: Larry Pine
Greg: Josh Brolin
Stacey: Vinessa Shaw
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 99 minutes...
Across a restaurant table, friends debate whether life is essentially comic or tragic. The writer of successful comedies, Sy (Wallace Shawn), believes people seek laughter to escape pain; Max (Larry Pine), who trusts in the power of tragedy, argues that life is absurd. By way of example, each spins a tale based on an anecdote about an uninvited guest. From here, the film alternates between Sy's romantic comedy and Max's tragic saga of a lonely soul, returning occasionally to the storytellers themselves.
As the twin stories play out, echoing each other and at times almost blending together (it takes a little work to stay oriented), the line between comedy and tragedy feels increasingly arbitrary, more a matter of style than dramatic ingredients. Melinda's moral edge recalls Husbands and Wives and Crimes and Misdemeanors, and the comedy keeps the film from tipping into unrelieved dark territory, even if Allen's script lacks for-the-ages one-liners.
In both tellings, the uninvited guest is Melinda (Radha Mitchell), a woman at loose ends. In the dramatic version, she's got a wavy bob and subsists on pills, white wine and cigarettes, traumatized by a difficult divorce in which she lost custody of her children. After being hospitalized for a suicide attempt, she arrives at the downtown loft of old friend Laurel (Chloe Sevigny) and Laurel's peevish actor husband, Lee Jonny Lee Miller), who isn't thrilled about sharing their pad with someone who's "nuts." Laurel welcomes the break in routine as respite from a troubled marriage.
Uptown, the smooth-coiffed Melinda interrupts her neighbors' dinner party after ingesting 28 sleeping pills. Out-of-work actor and neglected husband Hobie (Will Ferrell, taking a while to warm up as the Allen surrogate) finds himself enchanted by the lovely would-be suicide. His filmmaker wife, Susan (Amanda Peet), barely notices his crush as she pursues a financier for her new project, The Castration Sonata -- a film that, she promises, will put "male sexuality in perspective."
Susan fixes up Melinda with handsome dentist Greg (Josh Brolin), prompting a jealousy-fueled barrage of put-downs from Hobie, which Ferrell puts across with Allenesque inflection. (He also delivers one of the all-time funniest movie reactions to spousal infidelity.) The other Melinda, whom friend Cassie (Brooke Smith) sets up with a widowed dentist, instead falls for the dangerously charming musician Ellis (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Mitchell's nuanced intensity as the vulnerable Melinda, especially in her more high-strung incarnation, is key to the film's success. Another standout is Sevigny, whose Park Avenue-bred Laurel is a beautifully restrained, complex portrait of unhappiness.
Tech contributions are aces, led by Santo Loquasto's elegant production design and veteran cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond's striking ocher palette with noirish touches. From the swing of Take the 'A' Train to the emotional depths of Bartok, the jazz and classical selections are perfect enhancements.
MELINDA AND MELINDA
Fox Searchlight
A Gravier production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Executive producer: Steven Tenenbaum
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Co-producer: Helen Robin
Costume designer: Judy Ruskin Howell
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Melinda: Radha Mitchell
Hobie: Will Ferrell
Laurel: Chloe Sevigny
Ellis: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Lee: Jonny Lee Miller
Cassie: Brooke Smith
Susan: Amanda Peet
Sy: Wallace Shawn
Max: Larry Pine
Greg: Josh Brolin
Stacey: Vinessa Shaw
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 99 minutes...
- 4/14/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In his most substantial and satisfying feature since 1999's Sweet and Lowdown, Woody Allen revisits favorite themes: storytelling, love and duplicity, the neuroses of hyperarticulate but emotionally lost Manhattanites. Using a simple hook that intertwines two versions of the same story, he's created a memorable ensemble piece with Radha Mitchell especially compelling in the dual roles that drive Melinda and Melinda. Allen First's film for Fox Searchlight should draw the best reviews and business the writer-director has seen in a while.
Across a restaurant table, friends debate whether life is essentially comic or tragic. The writer of successful comedies, Sy (Wallace Shawn), believes people seek laughter to escape pain; Max (Larry Pine), who trusts in the power of tragedy, argues that life is absurd. By way of example, each spins a tale based on an anecdote about an uninvited guest. From here, the film alternates between Sy's romantic comedy and Max's tragic saga of a lonely soul, returning occasionally to the storytellers themselves.
As the twin stories play out, echoing each other and at times almost blending together (it takes a little work to stay oriented), the line between comedy and tragedy feels increasingly arbitrary, more a matter of style than dramatic ingredients. Melinda's moral edge recalls Husbands and Wives and Crimes and Misdemeanors, and the comedy keeps the film from tipping into unrelieved dark territory, even if Allen's script lacks for-the-ages one-liners.
In both tellings, the uninvited guest is Melinda (Radha Mitchell), a woman at loose ends. In the dramatic version, she's got a wavy bob and subsists on pills, white wine and cigarettes, traumatized by a difficult divorce in which she lost custody of her children. After being hospitalized for a suicide attempt, she arrives at the downtown loft of old friend Laurel (Chloe Sevigny) and Laurel's peevish actor husband, Lee Jonny Lee Miller), who isn't thrilled about sharing their pad with someone who's "nuts." Laurel welcomes the break in routine as respite from a troubled marriage.
Uptown, the smooth-coiffed Melinda interrupts her neighbors' dinner party after ingesting 28 sleeping pills. Out-of-work actor and neglected husband Hobie (Will Ferrell, taking a while to warm up as the Allen surrogate) finds himself enchanted by the lovely would-be suicide. His filmmaker wife, Susan (Amanda Peet), barely notices his crush as she pursues a financier for her new project, The Castration Sonata -- a film that, she promises, will put "male sexuality in perspective."
Susan fixes up Melinda with handsome dentist Greg (Josh Brolin), prompting a jealousy-fueled barrage of put-downs from Hobie, which Ferrell puts across with Allenesque inflection. (He also delivers one of the all-time funniest movie reactions to spousal infidelity.) The other Melinda, whom friend Cassie (Brooke Smith) sets up with a widowed dentist, instead falls for the dangerously charming musician Ellis (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Mitchell's nuanced intensity as the vulnerable Melinda, especially in her more high-strung incarnation, is key to the film's success. Another standout is Sevigny, whose Park Avenue-bred Laurel is a beautifully restrained, complex portrait of unhappiness.
Tech contributions are aces, led by Santo Loquasto's elegant production design and veteran cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond's striking ocher palette with noirish touches. From the swing of Take the 'A' Train to the emotional depths of Bartok, the jazz and classical selections are perfect enhancements.
MELINDA AND MELINDA
Fox Searchlight
A Gravier production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Executive producer: Steven Tenenbaum
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Co-producer: Helen Robin
Costume designer: Judy Ruskin Howell
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Melinda: Radha Mitchell
Hobie: Will Ferrell
Laurel: Chloe Sevigny
Ellis: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Lee: Jonny Lee Miller
Cassie: Brooke Smith
Susan: Amanda Peet
Sy: Wallace Shawn
Max: Larry Pine
Greg: Josh Brolin
Stacey: Vinessa Shaw
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 99 minutes...
Across a restaurant table, friends debate whether life is essentially comic or tragic. The writer of successful comedies, Sy (Wallace Shawn), believes people seek laughter to escape pain; Max (Larry Pine), who trusts in the power of tragedy, argues that life is absurd. By way of example, each spins a tale based on an anecdote about an uninvited guest. From here, the film alternates between Sy's romantic comedy and Max's tragic saga of a lonely soul, returning occasionally to the storytellers themselves.
As the twin stories play out, echoing each other and at times almost blending together (it takes a little work to stay oriented), the line between comedy and tragedy feels increasingly arbitrary, more a matter of style than dramatic ingredients. Melinda's moral edge recalls Husbands and Wives and Crimes and Misdemeanors, and the comedy keeps the film from tipping into unrelieved dark territory, even if Allen's script lacks for-the-ages one-liners.
In both tellings, the uninvited guest is Melinda (Radha Mitchell), a woman at loose ends. In the dramatic version, she's got a wavy bob and subsists on pills, white wine and cigarettes, traumatized by a difficult divorce in which she lost custody of her children. After being hospitalized for a suicide attempt, she arrives at the downtown loft of old friend Laurel (Chloe Sevigny) and Laurel's peevish actor husband, Lee Jonny Lee Miller), who isn't thrilled about sharing their pad with someone who's "nuts." Laurel welcomes the break in routine as respite from a troubled marriage.
Uptown, the smooth-coiffed Melinda interrupts her neighbors' dinner party after ingesting 28 sleeping pills. Out-of-work actor and neglected husband Hobie (Will Ferrell, taking a while to warm up as the Allen surrogate) finds himself enchanted by the lovely would-be suicide. His filmmaker wife, Susan (Amanda Peet), barely notices his crush as she pursues a financier for her new project, The Castration Sonata -- a film that, she promises, will put "male sexuality in perspective."
Susan fixes up Melinda with handsome dentist Greg (Josh Brolin), prompting a jealousy-fueled barrage of put-downs from Hobie, which Ferrell puts across with Allenesque inflection. (He also delivers one of the all-time funniest movie reactions to spousal infidelity.) The other Melinda, whom friend Cassie (Brooke Smith) sets up with a widowed dentist, instead falls for the dangerously charming musician Ellis (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Mitchell's nuanced intensity as the vulnerable Melinda, especially in her more high-strung incarnation, is key to the film's success. Another standout is Sevigny, whose Park Avenue-bred Laurel is a beautifully restrained, complex portrait of unhappiness.
Tech contributions are aces, led by Santo Loquasto's elegant production design and veteran cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond's striking ocher palette with noirish touches. From the swing of Take the 'A' Train to the emotional depths of Bartok, the jazz and classical selections are perfect enhancements.
MELINDA AND MELINDA
Fox Searchlight
A Gravier production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Executive producer: Steven Tenenbaum
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Co-producer: Helen Robin
Costume designer: Judy Ruskin Howell
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Melinda: Radha Mitchell
Hobie: Will Ferrell
Laurel: Chloe Sevigny
Ellis: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Lee: Jonny Lee Miller
Cassie: Brooke Smith
Susan: Amanda Peet
Sy: Wallace Shawn
Max: Larry Pine
Greg: Josh Brolin
Stacey: Vinessa Shaw
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 99 minutes...
- 3/28/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened
Venice International Film Festival
VENICE -- Woody Allen's new romantic comedy, "Anything Else", which occupied the coveted position of opening-night selection at the 60th annual Venice International Film Festival, would be a lot funnier if the jokes hadn't been heard countless times before in the writer-director's earlier, better works. Those hoping for a return to the halcyon days of "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", or even the less accomplished but still funny era of "Mighty Aphrodite" and "Bullets Over Broadway", will be sorely disappointed. The film isn't terrible (which is always damning with faint praise), so commercial prospects fall within the usual limited Allen boxoffice range.
The Allen persona has become a character in itself, a staple of the filmmaker's comedies even when he casts somebody else in the role, as he did with Kenneth Branagh in "Celebrity" and John Cusack in "Bullets". In "Anything Else", his persona assumes two leading roles, one played by Jason Biggs, the other by Allen himself. Biggs plays Jerry Falk, a writer just starting to get noticed in town (Manhattan, of course), who is smitten with selfish but seductive aspiring actress Amanda (Ricci) the moment he lays eyes on her. After the initial chase, Amanda couldn't care less about Jerry, a fact to which he, of course, prefers to remain oblivious.
When not trying to rekindle Amanda's interest in him or acting as peacemaker between his beloved and her mother, Laura (Stockard Channing), who has moved in with the couple against Jerry's wishes, the too-nice Jerry divides his time between his manager, Harvey (Danny DeVito), an optimistic has-been who may never actually have been, and his new best friend, former comedy writer David Dobel (Allen). Dobel, who is convinced that he and Jerry would make a great writing team, urges Jerry to dump Amanda, leave New York and head with him to Hollywood, where they'll take the sitcom industry by storm.
While sure to have its supporters (the Venice crowd laughed appreciatively in the appropriate places), there is nothing to set this work apart from any number of mediocre Allen films. Ricci gives a phlegmatic, mannered performance, while Biggs is better, even ingratiating at times, but seems hamstrung by the possibly self-imposed responsibility of mimicking the Allen persona's distinctive speech patterns and cadence. As in most Allen films, all the characters are consumed with their own desires and problems and have scant time for anyone else. With few positive personality attributes to counter all the negative ones, it has become increasingly difficult to muster much sympathy or even interest in any of his characters.
And what would an Allen film be without a strict Freudian analyst and intimations of an alleged worldwide conspiracy against the Jews? Probably better, but they seem as much a part of his films as the stammering, neurotic protagonist.
ANYTHING ELSE
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures in association with Gravier Prods. presents a Perdido Production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Darius Khondji
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Co-producer: Helen Robin
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Jerry Falk: Jason Biggs
Amanda: Christina Ricci
David Dobel: Woody Allen
Laura: Stockard Channing
Harvey: Danny DeVito
Running time -- 108 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Venice International Film Festival
VENICE -- Woody Allen's new romantic comedy, "Anything Else", which occupied the coveted position of opening-night selection at the 60th annual Venice International Film Festival, would be a lot funnier if the jokes hadn't been heard countless times before in the writer-director's earlier, better works. Those hoping for a return to the halcyon days of "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", or even the less accomplished but still funny era of "Mighty Aphrodite" and "Bullets Over Broadway", will be sorely disappointed. The film isn't terrible (which is always damning with faint praise), so commercial prospects fall within the usual limited Allen boxoffice range.
The Allen persona has become a character in itself, a staple of the filmmaker's comedies even when he casts somebody else in the role, as he did with Kenneth Branagh in "Celebrity" and John Cusack in "Bullets". In "Anything Else", his persona assumes two leading roles, one played by Jason Biggs, the other by Allen himself. Biggs plays Jerry Falk, a writer just starting to get noticed in town (Manhattan, of course), who is smitten with selfish but seductive aspiring actress Amanda (Ricci) the moment he lays eyes on her. After the initial chase, Amanda couldn't care less about Jerry, a fact to which he, of course, prefers to remain oblivious.
When not trying to rekindle Amanda's interest in him or acting as peacemaker between his beloved and her mother, Laura (Stockard Channing), who has moved in with the couple against Jerry's wishes, the too-nice Jerry divides his time between his manager, Harvey (Danny DeVito), an optimistic has-been who may never actually have been, and his new best friend, former comedy writer David Dobel (Allen). Dobel, who is convinced that he and Jerry would make a great writing team, urges Jerry to dump Amanda, leave New York and head with him to Hollywood, where they'll take the sitcom industry by storm.
While sure to have its supporters (the Venice crowd laughed appreciatively in the appropriate places), there is nothing to set this work apart from any number of mediocre Allen films. Ricci gives a phlegmatic, mannered performance, while Biggs is better, even ingratiating at times, but seems hamstrung by the possibly self-imposed responsibility of mimicking the Allen persona's distinctive speech patterns and cadence. As in most Allen films, all the characters are consumed with their own desires and problems and have scant time for anyone else. With few positive personality attributes to counter all the negative ones, it has become increasingly difficult to muster much sympathy or even interest in any of his characters.
And what would an Allen film be without a strict Freudian analyst and intimations of an alleged worldwide conspiracy against the Jews? Probably better, but they seem as much a part of his films as the stammering, neurotic protagonist.
ANYTHING ELSE
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures in association with Gravier Prods. presents a Perdido Production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe
Director of photography: Darius Khondji
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Co-producer: Helen Robin
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Editor: Alisa Lepselter
Cast:
Jerry Falk: Jason Biggs
Amanda: Christina Ricci
David Dobel: Woody Allen
Laura: Stockard Channing
Harvey: Danny DeVito
Running time -- 108 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" is crisply directed, beautifully acted and sharply written. But disappointment begins seeping in about halfway through by the accumulated failure to gather any momentum or clarity. By its abrupt, deeply unsatisfying ending, the colorful, buoyant work can't escape the impression of turning inconsequential.
It is without the punishing self-importance and subtextual ugliness that has marred some of Allen's recent works, but it doesn't have the flair and command of form that distinguished "Everybody Says I Love You" or "Deconstructing Harry". Premiering outside of competition here and then moving to Toronto before being launched as a late fall release, this film should unfortunately echo the commercial fate of Allen late '90s work.
Allen's astonishing productivity is unmatched, although it has become equally clear that making a new film every year has ostensibly exhausted the full complement of his ideas. The formal structure of "Sweet and Lowdown" is taken from Allen's far superior 1983 "Zelig", the brilliant juxtaposition of documentary interviews with fictional material to recount the story of a brilliant though enigmatic figure. Binding parts of other works, including "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Bullets Over Broadway", Allen opens the movie with the camera on himself, introducing the story of the sad, brilliant, neglected 1930s jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Sean Penn), whom the opening title cards announce recorded for RCA Victor such standards as "I'll See You in My Dreams", "My Melancholy Baby" and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles".
Vividly brought to life by the excellent Penn, Ray is pitched between extremes, a solipsist and "artist," combination con man, pimp and virtuoso jazz player whose reputation for genius is matched only by his wildly irresponsible streak and multiple addictions to vice. But he is burdened by one horrible realization, the knowledge that his work as a jazz guitarist has been usurped by a "gypsy from France," Django Reinhardt, an artist in whose presence Ray has fainted twice and who bursts in tears listening to the master's recordings. In the sketch format that Allen's talent thrives on, the filmmaker creates a succession of funny, telling vignettes -- including a hilarious account of Ray's attempt to make a daring entrance at one gig, his affinity for trains and shooting at rats.
That proves transitional and diversionary because the film's best moments are devoted to the relationship that develops between Ray and Hattie, a beautiful, emotionally sharp mute woman (Samantha Morton, giving the film's best performance). What the dreamy-eyed, deeply expressive Morton accomplishes through inflection, body movement and reactions is beautifully played off Penn's stylized movements. Unbelievably, Allen drops Morton from the movie virtually without explanation, and the movie dies in her absence. Making a late entrance, almost an hour in, Uma Thurman plays an aspiring writer whom Ray impulsively marries. In the film's weakest sections, Thurman is seduced by a contract killer (Anthony LaPaglia), precipitating a flat conclusion that Allen seems grasping to find an effective resolution.
The is Allen First's film since he reorganized his frequent technical collaborators. The first Allen movie in two decades not shot by Gordon Willis, Sven Nykvst or Carlo DiPalma, "Sweet and Lowdown" was photographed by the superb Chinese cinematographer Zhao Fei (Tiang Zhuangzhuang's "The Horse Thief"). Zhao lights some beautifully color-coded sequences, especially the use of soft blue light during Ray's bedroom admission to Hattie about the difficulties of his past. Santo Loquasto's production design convincingly evokes the period.
But Allen's use of commentators signals the absence of a shaping or organizing structure. Allen can't sustain a flow or build a scene that carries some insight into character or behavior. The movie whirs by, the separate parts never coalescing into either a sharply etched portrait of the times or addressing the conflicts arising from the artist's need to create against the larger social conformity. All that technique can't disguise its essential hollowness.
SWEET AND LOWDOWN
Sony Pictures Classics
Sweetland Films
A Jean Doumanian production
Credits: Producer: Jean Doumanian; Director/writer: Woody Allen; Executive producer:J.E. Beaucaire; Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Letty Aronson; Co-producer: Richard Brick; Director of photography: Zhao Fei; Production design: Santo Loquasto; Editor: Alisa Lepselter; Costume designer:Laura Cunningham Bauer. Cast: Emmet Ray: Sean Penn; Hattie: Samantha Morton; Blanche: Uma Thurman; Harry: James Urbaniak; Al Torrio: Anthony LaPaglia; Ellie: Gretchen Mol; Woody Allen: Himself. No MPAA rating. Running time -- 95 minutes...
It is without the punishing self-importance and subtextual ugliness that has marred some of Allen's recent works, but it doesn't have the flair and command of form that distinguished "Everybody Says I Love You" or "Deconstructing Harry". Premiering outside of competition here and then moving to Toronto before being launched as a late fall release, this film should unfortunately echo the commercial fate of Allen late '90s work.
Allen's astonishing productivity is unmatched, although it has become equally clear that making a new film every year has ostensibly exhausted the full complement of his ideas. The formal structure of "Sweet and Lowdown" is taken from Allen's far superior 1983 "Zelig", the brilliant juxtaposition of documentary interviews with fictional material to recount the story of a brilliant though enigmatic figure. Binding parts of other works, including "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Bullets Over Broadway", Allen opens the movie with the camera on himself, introducing the story of the sad, brilliant, neglected 1930s jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Sean Penn), whom the opening title cards announce recorded for RCA Victor such standards as "I'll See You in My Dreams", "My Melancholy Baby" and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles".
Vividly brought to life by the excellent Penn, Ray is pitched between extremes, a solipsist and "artist," combination con man, pimp and virtuoso jazz player whose reputation for genius is matched only by his wildly irresponsible streak and multiple addictions to vice. But he is burdened by one horrible realization, the knowledge that his work as a jazz guitarist has been usurped by a "gypsy from France," Django Reinhardt, an artist in whose presence Ray has fainted twice and who bursts in tears listening to the master's recordings. In the sketch format that Allen's talent thrives on, the filmmaker creates a succession of funny, telling vignettes -- including a hilarious account of Ray's attempt to make a daring entrance at one gig, his affinity for trains and shooting at rats.
That proves transitional and diversionary because the film's best moments are devoted to the relationship that develops between Ray and Hattie, a beautiful, emotionally sharp mute woman (Samantha Morton, giving the film's best performance). What the dreamy-eyed, deeply expressive Morton accomplishes through inflection, body movement and reactions is beautifully played off Penn's stylized movements. Unbelievably, Allen drops Morton from the movie virtually without explanation, and the movie dies in her absence. Making a late entrance, almost an hour in, Uma Thurman plays an aspiring writer whom Ray impulsively marries. In the film's weakest sections, Thurman is seduced by a contract killer (Anthony LaPaglia), precipitating a flat conclusion that Allen seems grasping to find an effective resolution.
The is Allen First's film since he reorganized his frequent technical collaborators. The first Allen movie in two decades not shot by Gordon Willis, Sven Nykvst or Carlo DiPalma, "Sweet and Lowdown" was photographed by the superb Chinese cinematographer Zhao Fei (Tiang Zhuangzhuang's "The Horse Thief"). Zhao lights some beautifully color-coded sequences, especially the use of soft blue light during Ray's bedroom admission to Hattie about the difficulties of his past. Santo Loquasto's production design convincingly evokes the period.
But Allen's use of commentators signals the absence of a shaping or organizing structure. Allen can't sustain a flow or build a scene that carries some insight into character or behavior. The movie whirs by, the separate parts never coalescing into either a sharply etched portrait of the times or addressing the conflicts arising from the artist's need to create against the larger social conformity. All that technique can't disguise its essential hollowness.
SWEET AND LOWDOWN
Sony Pictures Classics
Sweetland Films
A Jean Doumanian production
Credits: Producer: Jean Doumanian; Director/writer: Woody Allen; Executive producer:J.E. Beaucaire; Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Letty Aronson; Co-producer: Richard Brick; Director of photography: Zhao Fei; Production design: Santo Loquasto; Editor: Alisa Lepselter; Costume designer:Laura Cunningham Bauer. Cast: Emmet Ray: Sean Penn; Hattie: Samantha Morton; Blanche: Uma Thurman; Harry: James Urbaniak; Al Torrio: Anthony LaPaglia; Ellie: Gretchen Mol; Woody Allen: Himself. No MPAA rating. Running time -- 95 minutes...
You can judge a society by the kind of people it celebrates, Woody Allen declares in "Celebrity", an acerbic and hilarious takedown on our culture's infatuation with such "15 minutes of fame" types as hostages, criminals, supermodels, actors and the scores of unlikely oddballs who scorch to national attention.
Winding his send-up around his prototypical story line of squirrely writer going through midlife crisis, this latest black-and-white Woody should cause much celebration for Miramax. Not just smart, it's also accessibly funny and should reach a wider audience than Allen's usual demographic of the upscale, neurotic intelligentsia.
Kenneth Branagh steps in for Woody in this latest opus, replete with all the tics, stutters, flounders and hypertensive screwiness. He's Lee Simon, a travel writer lurching through a midlife crisis, both professionally and personally: the novel is not going well (he's thinking of doing a screenplay) and his long-term marriage has reached the doldrums. His literary conceits occasion him to think he's a T.S. Eliot figure, namely J. Alfred Prufrock, measuring his life "out in coffee spoons" and, in like grandiose manner, deciding to "eat a peach" -- namely go after a shapely blonde model/actress (Melanie Griffith) who pays him momentary heed when he does a puff piece on her.
Narratively, "Celebrity" promenades down the same epicene streets that Allen invariably treads: the comfy boulevards of the homo snobbium whose pitter-patter, upper-class ennui is oh so taxing and debilitating. As Lee laments, it's the "Age of Psychiatry" where people have become so civilized that a new barbarity has, accordingly, developed from their surface sophistication. Indeed, thematically "Celebrity" is a bit of a stern sermon: While Allen laces his preaching with slapstick (both verbal and physical) as opposed to fire and brimstone, the overall message is the same -- it's a putdown of the sophisticated world of the artsy elites whose values and ethics are transitory and trendy and whose lives, accordingly, are fractured and unsteady, with no firm guideposts, either moral or traditional, to give them firmament. It's in Lee's genuflection, his writerly forays into the upper-crust world of media celebrity and the hoity-toity that Allen's satiric humor is most bilious and, wonderfully, uproarious. Whether skewering supermodels, action movies, literary stars, snooty N.Y. Times reviewers, auteurs or other poseurs, Allen's humor strips bare the "discreet charm" of the cultural elite.
As the flibbertyjibbit writer, Branagh brings a bevy of squirming contradiction to his performance. He's a tweedy Woody no less, alternately sympathetic and loathsome. Other performances are equally inspired. As his addled, high-strung wife, Judy Davis, once again, bristles with so much craziness and hysteria that all the Saint John's Wort in the world couldn't cure her, while Griffith oozes callow cruelty as a supermodel/ actress. Credit casting directors Juliet Taylor and Laura Rosenthal for the inspired assemblage of players and real-life drop-ins. Leonardo DiCaprio does a perfect turn as a coke-crazed star-of-the-moment, while Winona Ryder is beguiling and treacherous as a self-centered temptress. The slew of "celebrities" who drop in for a cameo meld perfectly, adding an apt neo-Warhol smell to the proceedings. Among them: Donald Trump and Joey Buttafucco.
Allen's terrific troupe of tried-and-true technicians, including production designer Santo Loquasto and costumer Suzy Benzinger, bring the right high sheen and polish to this decayed upper-crust world. Loquasto's bric-a-brac and settings reveal the slight bases of these character's shallow lives, while Benzinger's plumery is the perfect adornment to this "Emperor's New Clothes" environment. As ever, the ever-conflicted Allen (part aesthete and part hedonist) mixes his story with wonderful, contrapuntal tones, including Sven Nykvist's spare lensings, which infuse a Bergman-esque darkness and abyss-like quality to this world. Stuart Copeland's chipper compositions illuminate its screwy vitality. And, oh so delectable, the scrumptious big-band sounds -- most memorably a smudgy trumpet on "A Slow Boat to China" -- give old-time backbone to these thin and tacky times.
CELEBRITY
Miramax Films
A Jean Doumanian production
Producer: Jean Doumanian
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Executive producer: J.E. Beaucaire
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins,
Charles H. Joffe, Letty Aronson
Co-producer: Richard Brick
Director of photography: Sven Nykvist
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Editor: Susan E. Morse
Costume designer: Suzy Benzinger
Casting: Juliet Taylor, Laura Rosenthal
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
Lee Simon: Kenneth Branagh
David: Hank Azaria
Robin Simon: Judy Davis
Brandon Darrow: Leonardo DiCaprio
Nicole Oliver: Melanie Griffith
Bonnie: Famke Janssen
Dr. Lupus: Michael Lerner
Nola: Winona Ryder
Supermodel: Charlize Theron
Tony Gardella: Joe Mantegna
Director: Greg Mottola
Running time -- 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Winding his send-up around his prototypical story line of squirrely writer going through midlife crisis, this latest black-and-white Woody should cause much celebration for Miramax. Not just smart, it's also accessibly funny and should reach a wider audience than Allen's usual demographic of the upscale, neurotic intelligentsia.
Kenneth Branagh steps in for Woody in this latest opus, replete with all the tics, stutters, flounders and hypertensive screwiness. He's Lee Simon, a travel writer lurching through a midlife crisis, both professionally and personally: the novel is not going well (he's thinking of doing a screenplay) and his long-term marriage has reached the doldrums. His literary conceits occasion him to think he's a T.S. Eliot figure, namely J. Alfred Prufrock, measuring his life "out in coffee spoons" and, in like grandiose manner, deciding to "eat a peach" -- namely go after a shapely blonde model/actress (Melanie Griffith) who pays him momentary heed when he does a puff piece on her.
Narratively, "Celebrity" promenades down the same epicene streets that Allen invariably treads: the comfy boulevards of the homo snobbium whose pitter-patter, upper-class ennui is oh so taxing and debilitating. As Lee laments, it's the "Age of Psychiatry" where people have become so civilized that a new barbarity has, accordingly, developed from their surface sophistication. Indeed, thematically "Celebrity" is a bit of a stern sermon: While Allen laces his preaching with slapstick (both verbal and physical) as opposed to fire and brimstone, the overall message is the same -- it's a putdown of the sophisticated world of the artsy elites whose values and ethics are transitory and trendy and whose lives, accordingly, are fractured and unsteady, with no firm guideposts, either moral or traditional, to give them firmament. It's in Lee's genuflection, his writerly forays into the upper-crust world of media celebrity and the hoity-toity that Allen's satiric humor is most bilious and, wonderfully, uproarious. Whether skewering supermodels, action movies, literary stars, snooty N.Y. Times reviewers, auteurs or other poseurs, Allen's humor strips bare the "discreet charm" of the cultural elite.
As the flibbertyjibbit writer, Branagh brings a bevy of squirming contradiction to his performance. He's a tweedy Woody no less, alternately sympathetic and loathsome. Other performances are equally inspired. As his addled, high-strung wife, Judy Davis, once again, bristles with so much craziness and hysteria that all the Saint John's Wort in the world couldn't cure her, while Griffith oozes callow cruelty as a supermodel/ actress. Credit casting directors Juliet Taylor and Laura Rosenthal for the inspired assemblage of players and real-life drop-ins. Leonardo DiCaprio does a perfect turn as a coke-crazed star-of-the-moment, while Winona Ryder is beguiling and treacherous as a self-centered temptress. The slew of "celebrities" who drop in for a cameo meld perfectly, adding an apt neo-Warhol smell to the proceedings. Among them: Donald Trump and Joey Buttafucco.
Allen's terrific troupe of tried-and-true technicians, including production designer Santo Loquasto and costumer Suzy Benzinger, bring the right high sheen and polish to this decayed upper-crust world. Loquasto's bric-a-brac and settings reveal the slight bases of these character's shallow lives, while Benzinger's plumery is the perfect adornment to this "Emperor's New Clothes" environment. As ever, the ever-conflicted Allen (part aesthete and part hedonist) mixes his story with wonderful, contrapuntal tones, including Sven Nykvist's spare lensings, which infuse a Bergman-esque darkness and abyss-like quality to this world. Stuart Copeland's chipper compositions illuminate its screwy vitality. And, oh so delectable, the scrumptious big-band sounds -- most memorably a smudgy trumpet on "A Slow Boat to China" -- give old-time backbone to these thin and tacky times.
CELEBRITY
Miramax Films
A Jean Doumanian production
Producer: Jean Doumanian
Screenwriter-director: Woody Allen
Executive producer: J.E. Beaucaire
Co-executive producers: Jack Rollins,
Charles H. Joffe, Letty Aronson
Co-producer: Richard Brick
Director of photography: Sven Nykvist
Production designer: Santo Loquasto
Editor: Susan E. Morse
Costume designer: Suzy Benzinger
Casting: Juliet Taylor, Laura Rosenthal
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
Lee Simon: Kenneth Branagh
David: Hank Azaria
Robin Simon: Judy Davis
Brandon Darrow: Leonardo DiCaprio
Nicole Oliver: Melanie Griffith
Bonnie: Famke Janssen
Dr. Lupus: Michael Lerner
Nola: Winona Ryder
Supermodel: Charlize Theron
Tony Gardella: Joe Mantegna
Director: Greg Mottola
Running time -- 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/11/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Woody Allen breaks out into song, brandishes special effects and celebrates love in this delectably light and uplifting divertissement from his usual zany gloom. With a spring in his cinematic step and a song in his heart, Allen steps out in surprisingly giddy fashion in Miramax's "Everyone Says I Love You", a holiday chestnut whose appeal might extend even to audiences who didn't do postgrad studies at Columbia.
Undeniably, it's not one of Allen's weightier endeavors, which may hamper it with his more dour fans, but this zesty amusement, with song, dance and plenty of nuttily smart comedy, says a whole lot that you can't put into footnote form.
Once again, Allen puts on his cultural anthropologist's helmet to lay out the tribal rituals of his chosen people, New York's ritzy Upper East Side. And, as ever, Allen's depiction of these upper crusties is unabashedly affectionate.
While Tom Wolfe may have lacerated this same silver-spoon sect as the "radical chic," or an acidic Luis Bunuel may have venomously noted their "discreet charm," Allen celebrates their privileged peculiarities. It's a world where the "kids" have such names as Holden and Skylar and the adults measure out their days with soirees and culturally correct dabblings.
While "Everyone Says I Love You" may be a leap of optimism for Allen, he steeps it with his usual plot bugaboos of misguided love and the fractured state of modern-day relationships. In this squirrelly scenario, he stars as Joe Berliner, a divorcee with noir-ish, expatriate pretensions who lives a comfy existence in Paris but is only a quick hop back to his beloved New York. In this Allen-esque affaire de coeurs, Joe has returned to his Manhattan womb, nattering about committing suicide after a recent breakup with yet another inappropriate woman.
In the tasteful domicile of his ex-wife, Steffi (Goldie Hawn), and her gentleman lawyer hubby (Alan Alda), Joe pours out his heart to their oh-so-sophisticated sensibilities. Supportive Steffi and new hubby Bob's family den is utterly screwy and frayed at the seams, gyrating around their daughters' romantic genuflections and their own self-satisfied rationalizations. Admittedly, the plot turns in this nimble lark are often sitcom-contrived -- one of the daughters falls in love with an ex-con who ultraliberal Mom has brought home for dinner, for instance -- but in this case, it's no matter. This one's for the frosting, not the cake.
Not to say that Allen has gone completely out of character; the gentle slings and arrows of his comedy are still directed at many of the same targets -- Republicans, Germans, sophisticates -- and his muses are transported by the same conflicted loves. As ever, there are enough scrumptiously romantic shots of Manhattan to fill an airport postcard rack and enough dreamy old standards to launch a big-band label.
The cast is a similar selection of the old and the new, with such vaunted players as Alda once again smartly limning Allen's WASP-y alter ego, and Hawn deliciously alighting as his limousine-liberal ex-wife. In perhaps the film's most inspired casting, Julia Roberts is wonderfully appropriate as Allen's woefully inappropriate romantic ideal, while Drew Barrymore oozes old-movie glamour as the love-skittish Skylar.
The new Woody is once again sagely served by the old Woody's technical team, again highlighted by production designer Santo Loquasto's richly arched conceptions and cinematographer Carlo DiPalma's scrumptiously mounted compositions. Dick Hyman's musical arrangements are similarly bellisimo, and a nod of the top hat goes to the new additions to the technical family, the sprightly visual effects work of Basmeyer & Everett.
EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU
Miramax Films
Producer Robert Greenhut
Screenwriter-director Woody Allen
Executive producers Jean Doumanian,
J.E. Beaucaire
Co-executive producers Jack Rollins,
Charles H. Joffe, Letty Aronson
Director of photography Carlo DiPalma
Production design Santo Loquasto
Editor Susan E. Morse
Costume design Jeffrey Kurland
Co-producer Helen Roth
Choreographer Graciela Daniele
Music Dick Hyman
Casting Juliet Taylor
Visual effects produced by Basmeyer & Everett
Sound mix Gary Alper
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joe Berliner Woody Allen
Von Julia Roberts
Holden Edward Norton
Skylar Drew Barrymore
Bob Alan Alda
Lane Gay Hoffman
Scott Lukas Haas
Laura Natalie Portman
Frieda Trude Klein
Steffi Goldie Hawn
DJ Natasha Lyonne
Grandpa Patrick Cranshaw
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Undeniably, it's not one of Allen's weightier endeavors, which may hamper it with his more dour fans, but this zesty amusement, with song, dance and plenty of nuttily smart comedy, says a whole lot that you can't put into footnote form.
Once again, Allen puts on his cultural anthropologist's helmet to lay out the tribal rituals of his chosen people, New York's ritzy Upper East Side. And, as ever, Allen's depiction of these upper crusties is unabashedly affectionate.
While Tom Wolfe may have lacerated this same silver-spoon sect as the "radical chic," or an acidic Luis Bunuel may have venomously noted their "discreet charm," Allen celebrates their privileged peculiarities. It's a world where the "kids" have such names as Holden and Skylar and the adults measure out their days with soirees and culturally correct dabblings.
While "Everyone Says I Love You" may be a leap of optimism for Allen, he steeps it with his usual plot bugaboos of misguided love and the fractured state of modern-day relationships. In this squirrelly scenario, he stars as Joe Berliner, a divorcee with noir-ish, expatriate pretensions who lives a comfy existence in Paris but is only a quick hop back to his beloved New York. In this Allen-esque affaire de coeurs, Joe has returned to his Manhattan womb, nattering about committing suicide after a recent breakup with yet another inappropriate woman.
In the tasteful domicile of his ex-wife, Steffi (Goldie Hawn), and her gentleman lawyer hubby (Alan Alda), Joe pours out his heart to their oh-so-sophisticated sensibilities. Supportive Steffi and new hubby Bob's family den is utterly screwy and frayed at the seams, gyrating around their daughters' romantic genuflections and their own self-satisfied rationalizations. Admittedly, the plot turns in this nimble lark are often sitcom-contrived -- one of the daughters falls in love with an ex-con who ultraliberal Mom has brought home for dinner, for instance -- but in this case, it's no matter. This one's for the frosting, not the cake.
Not to say that Allen has gone completely out of character; the gentle slings and arrows of his comedy are still directed at many of the same targets -- Republicans, Germans, sophisticates -- and his muses are transported by the same conflicted loves. As ever, there are enough scrumptiously romantic shots of Manhattan to fill an airport postcard rack and enough dreamy old standards to launch a big-band label.
The cast is a similar selection of the old and the new, with such vaunted players as Alda once again smartly limning Allen's WASP-y alter ego, and Hawn deliciously alighting as his limousine-liberal ex-wife. In perhaps the film's most inspired casting, Julia Roberts is wonderfully appropriate as Allen's woefully inappropriate romantic ideal, while Drew Barrymore oozes old-movie glamour as the love-skittish Skylar.
The new Woody is once again sagely served by the old Woody's technical team, again highlighted by production designer Santo Loquasto's richly arched conceptions and cinematographer Carlo DiPalma's scrumptiously mounted compositions. Dick Hyman's musical arrangements are similarly bellisimo, and a nod of the top hat goes to the new additions to the technical family, the sprightly visual effects work of Basmeyer & Everett.
EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU
Miramax Films
Producer Robert Greenhut
Screenwriter-director Woody Allen
Executive producers Jean Doumanian,
J.E. Beaucaire
Co-executive producers Jack Rollins,
Charles H. Joffe, Letty Aronson
Director of photography Carlo DiPalma
Production design Santo Loquasto
Editor Susan E. Morse
Costume design Jeffrey Kurland
Co-producer Helen Roth
Choreographer Graciela Daniele
Music Dick Hyman
Casting Juliet Taylor
Visual effects produced by Basmeyer & Everett
Sound mix Gary Alper
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joe Berliner Woody Allen
Von Julia Roberts
Holden Edward Norton
Skylar Drew Barrymore
Bob Alan Alda
Lane Gay Hoffman
Scott Lukas Haas
Laura Natalie Portman
Frieda Trude Klein
Steffi Goldie Hawn
DJ Natasha Lyonne
Grandpa Patrick Cranshaw
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/2/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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