There is a theological bent to Woody Allen’s CAFÉ SOCIETY. It’s there in the constant bickering between the hero’s parents about whether or not a relative has a Jewish-shaped head. And, furthermore, if he doesn’t, how can he be a proper Jew? Such questions are a Midrash on the actual story, which concerns a young… Read More »
A Philosophical IRRATIONAL MAN
Some of Woody Allen’s best films deal with the problem of absolute ethics in a world that is full of moral ambiguity. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS beings the epitome of his musings on the subject, with lesser, but no less satisfying efforts such as MATCH POINT continuing the dialogue. In IRRATIONAL MAN, Allen has crafted another… Read More »
YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER
Woody Allen revisits questions of ethics and morals as lived in the real world in YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER. His characters bounce and bobble their way through a world without answers, in which they attempt to seize happiness from the jaws of despair with varying degrees of success. The central question is… Read More »
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
The only real misstep in Woody Allens MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is, unfortunately, in the opening montage that shows the City of Lights progressing from morning to evening. While there is no denying that this is a city of seemingly limitless picturesque vistas that range from the familiar to the novel, Allen is entranced by too… Read More »
MATCH POINT
Chris (Johnathan Rhys-Meyers), the focus of Woody Allen’s MATCH POINT is an existential man in the proper Sartrian mold making his way in a world, he will learn, that is ruled by the short of absurdist chaos favored by Jean-Paul’s arch-rival, Camus. So much for free will, bad faith, and making one’s own luck. Forget… Read More »
CASSANDRA’S DREAM
The funny thing, in the sense of odd rather than comedic, about CASSANDRA’S DREAM is that even though it is filmed in color, it is remembered in black and white. In Woody Allen’s lastest film, he returns to his consideration of morality, this time through the lens of classical Greek tragedy. Two brothers, Ian (Ewan… Read More »