Manhattan Murder Mystery wasn’t a top-notch Woody. Yet, despite this
light-hearted fare being a lesser work vis-à-vis his masterpieces, it still was
an immensely enjoyable, witty and funny film where he made smart use of an
overtly cinematic murder mystery tale for his distinctive musings on urban
relationships, neuroses, dysfunctions and foibles. That he could make such an
effortlessly funny movie while in a huge tabloid scandal involving Mia Farrow speaks
volumes about the natural abilities of this prolific filmmaker and humorist. The
marriage of middle-aged New York couple Larry (Allen) and Carol (Diane Keaton,
last-minute replacement for Farrow) is slowly moving into a state of stasis and
ennui as she finds him boring. They are jerked out of their routines when she
starts believing that their friendly elderly neighbour (Jerry Adler) has killed
his wife. Larry, who is anything but an adventurous person, is convinced that
his wife is hunting for straws in the air, and to further compound his sense of
frustrations and insecurity, the still-gorgeous Carol gets a willing partner in
her investigations in the form of their flirtatious and dashing long-time
friend (Alan Alda). The tightly-plotted tale of twists and turns was balanced
by the typically whimsical tone, rambling conversations and quirky character
dynamics. There were enough self-deprecatory humour, intelligent one-liners,
terrific chemistry between the leads, and references to classic noirs – shots
of Double Indemnity highlighting the motif,
and the iconic finale of The Lady from Shanghai complementing the climax – to help one ignore the plot holes, and
kept it at an arm’s length from his more serious ventures involving crime and
morality like Crimes and Misdemeanors,
Match Point, etc.
Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy/Mystery/Urban Comedy/Marriage Comedy
Language: English
Country: US
2 comments:
Certainly a spirited and entertaining Woody Allen film that is always fondly recalled. Nice review here!
Thanks Sam. Its unfortunate that this is usually qualified as a lesser Woody, as it sure deserves more than that.
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