Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Blah

It's time I face the music, Woody Allen does nothing for me. I think I've only mildly liked one of his films and I keep watching them expecting that I'm going to have that 'a-ha' moment when it all clicks and I figure out this man's appeal. The truth is: it's not going to happen. Woody Allen's appeal is just going to have to pass me by. From what I can make out of this, the two running stories in this film have nothing to do with each other. There is a theological question posed, I supposed with Martin Landau's character and of course it's left open ended. Allen keeps trying to pass himself as a leading man, but it hasn't and never will work. I was bored thirty minutes into this thing. Watch at your own risk.


December 2, 2008

Walking the line between comedy & tragedy

I love some of Allen's films and hate some. He did really wacky comedy in his early films, which I never liked and then broke through to a more realistic, romantic and equally funny style in the wonderful Annie Hall. His reverence for the ultra somber and serious work of Bergman spawned some of his more dreary attempts; he didn't do "serious" very well but I give him credit for trying.

Here I am amazed at how successful he is at combining his comic view with his very serious themes. He certainly has a handle on a segment of the population that bears charicature. His bombastic, egotistical producer (Alan Alda) is wonderful and I loved the twist at the end when this guy gets the girl. The successful ophtamalogist, very well played by Martin Landau, could be a source of comic contempt and he does come off that way, but still he seems human and not without his redeeming values. His hood brother, Jack, also very well played by Jerry Orbach, gives another slice of the problem of morality. Funniest, to me, was the picture of the elderly philosopher whom the Allan character idolizes. Allen, the film maker, isn't afraid to demythologize this type, either.

The rabbi who goes blind (Sam Waterston) seems to be the one character for whom Allen has genuine respect and he closes the film on a serious note by showing the rabbi haltingly dancing with his daughter at her wedding. I could argue that Allen copped out at the end by tacking a serious ending on what was, up till then, a very comic film. But I think he really did achieve something quite remarkable in this movie and I recommend it.

The whole cast shines, including Mia Farrow, who looks radiant here and Angelica Huston and Claire Bloom. December 2, 2008

Heads you win, tails I lose

Allen has said on more than one occasion that he doesn't have the stuff to be a director/writer of the caliber of Bergman or Fellini. But in "Crimes and Misdemeanors" he comes up to the task. The film isn't just one of Allen's best (I'm comfortable with saying it's the very best he's ever made, except for the fact that, because Allen works in at least three genres, it's difficult to compare and contrast his films). In my judgment, it's one of the finest films in American cinema.

The film is really cut from the same cloth as the medieval passion play. It explores themes that involve morality and God. In a godless universe, does it make any sense to talk about right or wrong? In a universe in which there might be a god, but one who's apparently indifferent to us, are we free to act as we wish? Allen's conclusion seems to be not unlike Albert Camus' in The Myth of Sisyphus: the universe may or may not be godless, but it is absurd. Bad guys (as personified by Martin Landau's character) do what they do without apparent retribution or punishment, but may not be easy with their gains. Good guys (as personified by Woody Allen's character) do what they do without apparent reward or acclaim, and may be just as uneasy. Most of us are simply too self-absorbed and witless (Alan Alda's character) to know that, in the end, everybody loses.

A bleak image of human existence, perhaps. But (as in Bergman's worldview), it's lightened by fleeting moments of grace: falling in love, moments of wonderment and happiness, relating to young people. We all may be losers in the end, but that needn't make life totally miserable.

Performances in the film, especially Alan Alda's and Martin Landau's, are superb. The only exception is Angelica Huston's wooden performance. But insofar as she's got to be one of the most overrated actors in the business, one doesn't expect more from her, and thus is never really disappointed.

Easily five stars. November 17, 2008

This sort of thing only happens in the movies...

Central to this film is the ancient tragic question; is there a higher equalizer for our actions, or do we have to judge ourselves because there is no higher authority and meaning? Woody suggests the latter in the spirit of Sophicles and the Greeks.

Bringing the two stories together at the end with Allen and Landau might be the best scene in Woody's career. In this scene Allen puts a twist on the Greek self-flagualtion and instead gives an ironic 'Hollywood ending'. Doubly ironic since the happily self-absolved man chides the Allen character for being too influenced by the movies... See it for yourself and you'll understand...

This film also has a very artful use of the other theme of 'vision'. As the rabbi has a clear and grateful conscience even while losing his faculty of sight, Mr. Allen brings in very spiritual overtones about satisfaction in life coming from an inward illumination, rather than outward lusts.

One criticism however; the two "big ideas" of the philosophy professor character are actually very tired and decidedly middlebrow retreads - one from Soren Kirkregarrd, and the other from some book called "love Maps". September 10, 2008

One of Allen's best films!

This is one of Woody Allen's best films, and for the price of $10 it is a no-brainer to buy it! June 26, 2008

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