Deconstructing Harry

It isn't as lovable as "Annie Hall" or "Hannah and Her Sisters," and it's not as overtly philosophical as "Crimes and Misdemeanors." And that's probably why "Deconstructing Harry" is underrated by film/Allen fans. Still, it ranks among the Top 5 Allen films. Woody plays a Philip Roth-like fiction writer who is lecherous, unlikable, and disloyal; in dropping his "cute loser" shtick, the performance rings with more honesty than he's had in years. In a nod to Bergman's "Wild Strawberries," Allen's character has a chance to reflect on his life as he travels to a university for an honor. Memories mix with scenes this writer's fiction, providing opportunities for the large and excellent ensemble cast. Many of Allen's later films seem tired, but the neurotic jumpiness he brings to "Deconstructing Harry" reinjects energy into his work. If you loved "Husbands and Wives," try this. I rate it 9.

Harry Block is a writer who tends to thinly veil his won life in his art. His tendency to mock his friends and family through similar characters in his work has left him with three ex-wives and a huge number of people who hate him. He lives a lonely life and has a penchant for pills and whore (prostitution being pure and totally free of BS). When his college plans to honour him he finds he has no-one who wants to go with him, so he ‘kidnaps' his son, a black whore and an old friend with him. As the characters from his work come and go around him, he finds that he struggles to make amends with those around him and decides than he can only be happy in his work.

This is a fantastic Woody Allen film, and his only film to be rated 18 in the UK. The story seems to be a very clear, very personal attack on himself. It's like Allen is using a fictional story (going to be honoured by his college) to lay himself bare. Certainly Block's habit for using his own life in his work seems to echo accusations towards Allen in real life. At times this makes the film really hard to watch, some scenes are so full of apparent self-loathing and bile that it's hard to laugh. Happily the film is hilarious all the way through - this is not one of Allen's arty, serious films. It should be said that Allen denies that this is as personal as it appears but it is easy to see why it is seen as a personal attack on himself.

The film's main story is littered with scenes from Block's work that demonstrate how he has used his characters to mock others and to portray himself - Robin Williams is the best as the artist that literally lacks focus and Crystal is hellishly good. The story's moral about art and life is not as clear or as clever as it thinks it is, but it's very, very funny and the level of bile Allen appears to be spitting at himself is very interesting to observe.

Allen is great in the central role, but you do occasionally feel like you should look away at times because he appears to be giving himself a real kicking. The rest of the cast is really good and is full of famous faces ranging from big stars (Moore, Crystal, Alley, Williams) to familiar faces (Maguire, Bogosian, Louis-Dreyfus, Shue, Tucci). As a director Allen does some new tricks to make this feel even more different from his other films, but the jump cuts etc are a little tiresome. The most important character to me is Cookie. She is significant because Allen has not really ever created a good black character (even if she is a prostitute).

Overall this is a really funny film. The degree of vitriol that Allen appears to aim towards himself makes this a little less enjoyable but overall it is a great film.

I have been looking forward to seeing this film for quite a while, and when I finally had a chance I was pretty quick to take it up. As I started it, I regretted it immediately, I was bored and annoyed. Towards the end, it began to grow on me, but a lot just didn't do it for me.

What I liked: I absolutely love the concept and the story. I have not seen any like it. What I like most is that while there is an actual plot and external events, it's more of a character study. They take an unlikable character and give him plenty of depth and sympathy to make up for his brash decisions and opinions. I love Woody Allen as a writer. I also liked the short stories; how they were narrated, the actual relevance they had to Harry's problems and friends, and how they were somewhat diverse. It wasn't just about the message. I both liked and disliked the scenes where they would cut to the same shot. It is very reminiscent of Jean- Loc Goddard's Breathless, which at times gave it a very relaxed, more realistic feel, considering that you could interpret that there were probably moments of silence between conversation, like something that happens in real conversation. However, when you cut in mid-sentence or make too many quick cuts, it's distracting and annoying to try and listen.

What I hated: While I love that film is about Harry Block, I hated him. His guts, his obsession with sex, and the fact that he is so damn awkward. I hate Woody Allen as an actor. I appreciate when people stutter, pause, mix up words, or ramble in movies because that's what people do in real life. However, Woody Allen takes it and makes it absolutely obnoxious. His arms flail around, he never makes eye contact (or keeps his eyes on the road while driving).

Overall, the word I would use to describe this movie is 'inconsistent,' with some scene being very funny and entertaining, while others made me want to scratch my DVD apart.

I'm sure some people wouldn't agree with me, but this movie is a great piece of art on film. Like Hitchcock, Coppola, and others, Woody Allen is a real cinema artist. He makes great use of the possibilities of cinema without losing himself in expensive special effects.

Of course cinema is a medium to create a near-perfect realism on a fictional story. But it can also be an artistic medium. Playing with the possibilities. An example in this film is Robin Williams. A men who is 'out of focus'.

The story is, like most films, not very original. A character that struggles with his personality and social life. But unlike most movies, you can see an artist made this film. It's a Woody Allen creation. His own style, his own characters, his own humor. Not a collection of an expensive scriptwriter with an expensive director, an expensive special effects team , an expensive director of photography etc. to make a total non-personal creation for the big public. Of course the whole crew did a perfect job, but it is surely a Woody Allen film!

A great movie with a nice plot. Some nice switching in timeline and fiction / reality (for the story that is) makes it more interesting then the story really is. Also the jumpcuts, the camera movement, the cast and the humor are making this film a must see! Even if you are not a Woody Allen fan you will like this movie. If you are a fan of big blockbuster movies (standard Hollywood confention movies) this movie is a must see as well! Not only to see the real art of cinema (something different then perfect special effects) but also just for a nice evening and some good humor.

Woody bares his soul--again--and if the introspective vision of the sad clown (growing old) isn't what you're expecting, the film is likely to be a disappointment. The film is funny, of course, and vulgar (as most Allen movies are), but it's also bitter and cynical, and rather sad.

The jerky jump-cuts might be a stylized editing cover-up for jumping from take to take to utilise the best performances of a pantheon of actors, or they might be planned...I don't know. I had to see a few of them before I settled into accepting them as "the style", but I decided they work in this film.

Other "user comments" complain about Woody and the sexy young women. That bothers me in some films, but not here. Here it's part of Harry's character--part of Woody's "character"--and is clearly part of his problem.

I think this is an honest film, a sad and revealing film about one of the most clever and creative writers in America. It's funny, it's witty, and it's also depressing. It has moments of pure, laugh-out-loud humour (eg. the elevator going down to the bottom floor of hell; Harry arriving at the honouring ceremony with a dead body, a prostitute, and his "kidnapped" son in the car), but underneath it's the story of a man who cannot function happily in real life, only in the fictions he creates. Although fantasy plays a major role in the story, the story is not a fantasy. The parallels between Allen himself and the character and plot he's created here are obvious.

I enjoyed watching this video, and would recommend it-- selectively--to friends. If you like the Allen sense of humour, want to see a fairly unusual editing style used effectively, want to see some superb acting cameos by some very talented actors, or have an interest in the torments of a neurotic middle-aged genius and how they might be revealed on film, then you'll like this movie. If this doesn't sound like your kind of thing, watch something else.