150W: Alice

Short reviews for clear and concise verdicts on a broad range of films...

Alice (Dir. Woody Allen/1990)

Beginning with a flirtatious fantasy, Alice is Woody Allen indulging his upper-class thoughts again. Released in 1990, it’s clear that this was a low point as Alice is tired and hollow. Alice, an upper-class housewife, turns to herbal remedies from an acupuncturist to solve her woes. Her privileged life is an excuse for boredom and frustration as she is attracted to the tall and handsome Joe (Mantegna). Akin to the desperately creative characters we’ve seen before, Alice wants to be a writer, but lacks the desire and motivation to become one. Magical powers and extreme wealth is simply not enough though, as she continues to blame circumstance. The finale tries to offset her blissfully ignorant perspective, but it fails to elevate the majority of Alice, whereby her apathy and “tortured” sense of self grates and frustrates. A returning ghost is a highlight, but Woody can do much better than this.

Rating: 4/10

150W: September

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September (Dir. Woody Allen/1987)

“I’m not who I thought I was” notes Steffie (Dianne Wiest) in Woody Allen’s sober and sincere September. Loosely based on Chekhov play Uncle Vanya, Allen contains the drama within a single house. Friends and family are supporting clinically-depressed Lane (Mia Farrow) following a failed suicide attempt but everyone finds it difficult to cope. Lane loves her boyfriend Peter (Sam Waterston), but he has fallen for Steffie, a married woman going through a rough patch. Lane’s Mum, Diane (Elaine Stritch), a retired actress is desperate for Peter to write her biography frustrating Lane further. Suffice to say, no-one is, emotionally, who they think they are. Lacking the laughs, September provides a solemn approach to relationships. Allen takes a step towards seriousness as affairs are not flippant and suicide is real. A tender story, September lacks the pace and immediacy that drives a drama forward making this more miss than hit.

Rating: 5/10

150W: Shadows and Fog

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Shadows and Fog (Dir. Woody Allen/1991)

Lurking in the shadows is the killer. You don’t want to discuss it and you don’t want to put yourself in the fog and make yourself a target. It is inevitable. Death, in and of itself, is inevitable. Shadows and Fog, a dark and dusty drama from Woody Allen asks these profound questions. Under the guise of an ambiguous type of dwelling, town folk are awkward and join different groups (see. Religions) in the hope of capturing the killer (see. Death). Mr Kleinman (Allen), alternatively, is not sure of the rules (not sure of God) and not sure what is expected of him to capture the killer (scared of death, but not convinced of religion). Though aspiring to be cerebral and high-brow, Shadows and Fog attempts to metaphorically deconstruct the meaning of life. Maybe further watching improve it, but the happy-go-lucky prostitutes and uninteresting investigation don’t engage – and it should.

Rating: 4/10

150W: Radio Days

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Radio Days (Dir. Woody Allen/1987)

Though Woody narrates Radio Days, unconventionally, he doesn’t appear. The charm in Joe’s (Seth Green) family – comfortably married family members – defies Allen’s usual unfaithful couples who cannot help but stray and play-away. Flitting from this childhood, we see the rise in stardom of Sally White (Mia Farrow) - a waitress who, undergoing elocution lessons becomes a radio celebrity. Steeped in nostalgia, amid mahogany furniture and detailed, delicate lamps, is a thinly-disguised reflection on Allen’s childhood in the early 1940’s. Ending in 1944, the characters hope the war comes to an end. A family gathering around a radio to hear news of trapped child breaks your heart, while a sequence describing specific songs that are inextricably linked to his memory is relatable and personal. Rather than a clear, concise story, Radio Days is a warm series of romanticised vignettes harking back to an innocent time in America when ignorance was bliss.

Rating: 7/10

150W: Hannah and Her Sisters

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Hannah and Her Sisters (Dir. Woody Allen/1986)

Breaking the mirror into three pieces, Woody Allen uses himself, Michael Caine and Max Von Sydow to depict the regretful, lustful and intellectual sides to his personality respectively. The sisters that bind these men together are central to the story as we find how Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters (Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest). Elliot (Caine) is married to Hannah and falls for her sister Lee (Hershey); Lee is romantically involved with Frederick; Holly (Wiest) is the final sister who’s restless as her partner-to-be (and Hannah’s ex-husband), hypochondriac Mickey (Allen), is undergoing a crisis of faith. Such personal themes regarding faith and love are tackled sensitively and balanced well with measured comedy that shows maturity and intellect. Allen is confident in his direction, framing moments from obscure angles and capturing the drama within the context of three Thanksgivings. Well-written women and weighty ideas prove how impressive Allen truly is.

Rating: 8/10

150W: Zelig

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Zelig (Dir. Woody Allen/1983)

Before Forrest Gump was Zelig. Feeding a fictional character into history is central to the story of Leonard Zelig. Prior to Christopher Guest and his popular use of mockumentary in This is Spinal Tap, Woody Allen was there in 1983 (Allen’s Take the Money and Run from 1969 is one of the earliest uses of mockumentary in cinema). This is the story of Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a fictional character in the 1920’s dubbed a chameleon due to his extraordinary skill in changing form when stood next to a different man. If stood next to Native-American’s – he turns into a Native American. Zelig is innovative, confident and intriguing but it lacks a sense of pace or urgency. Once you know the skill, the consequence is less fascinating. Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow and Adolf Hitler all appear but Zelig is uninspiring. Shouldn’t he be the most interesting? Turns out, he isn’t.

Rating: 4/10

150W: Crimes and Misdemeanours

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Crimes and Misdemeanours (Dir. Woody Allen/1989)

Two stories; two marriages; linked by a final, fleeting moment. Esteemed ophthalmologist Judah (Landau) has trouble managing his mistress (Huston) as she threatens to destroy his family by revealing their affair to his wife (Bloom). Contrasting with this, with his marriage falling apart, filmmaker Clifford (Allen) is documenting the life of smug brother-in-law Lester (Alda) leading to an affair of his own with producer Halley Reed (Farrow). Not so much a comedy and more an attempt to analyse humanity as a whole, Crimes and Misdemeanours is successful in its high-brow thoughts and incisive comments on an unfair world that, according to Allen, implies that the only judgement made is how you judge yourself. Exploring morality and faith, Allen argues, if you choose to rise above faith and select your own morals than you are dictating your own happiness. Very much on form, this film lingers long after the closing credits.

Rating: 9/10