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| Perhaps the worst poster for any Woody Allen is this one, which fails to set any tone or appropriate expectations for his film, Crimes and Misdemeanors |
QUICK REVIEW:
Two aging men with each their league of moral problems; one has been unfaithful for two years with a hysterical woman, who now threatens to reveal everything to his wife; the other 'just' jeopardizes his professional credibility for money and a girl. SPOILER: They both lose.
Martin Landau (Ed Wood (1994)) was Oscar-nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his performance here and is good as the doctor, and to start out with, I followed the mess of his life with interest, but later the character's self-pitying cowardice became too much for me to take.
Master filmmaker, writer-director/star Woody Allen (Broadway Danny Rose (1984)) (who - incredibly - was both Oscar-nominated for his direction and original script here) personifies the film's slight humorous ingredient as a documentary filmmaker.
Crimes is well-written (as almost all of Allen's movies), but too complex; it wants to convey too much in its relatively short span (104 minutes), as its tag-line also indicates: 'A film about humanity.'
The Allen plot-line and his chemistry with Mia Farow (Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)) is failing at this stage in their professional and personal relationship, while Landau's character's dilemma starts to bore some time into the film.
Crimes only manages to be an almost good dramedy-handling of the concept of sin.
Related reviews:
Woody Allen: 2014 in films - according to Film Excess
Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - Allen's irresistible French Riviera romance
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Fading Gigolo (2013) - Turturro's pleasant turn as a high-end NY prostitute (as actor)
Blue Jasmine (2013) - Allen presenets Blanchett, a woman under the influence
To Rome with Love (2012) - Woody Allen's slightest film to date
Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Allen's well-laid but inconsequentiel English cul-de-sac
Anything Else (2003) - Perfect contemporary relationship comedy
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) - Allen's hypnotic, noirish shenanigans
Celebrity (1998) or, Stars in New York
Celebrity (1998) or, Beautiful Celebrities Talk About Sex (guest review)
Broadyway Danny Rose (1984) or, Keep Your Heart
Annie Hall (1977) or, My Relationship with Alvie Singer
Bananas (1971) - Woody Allen's South American misadventure is still a barrel of laughs
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (as actor)
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| Martin Landau with Anjelica Huston, another one of the many stars in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors |
Watch the trailer here, which shows the film's overbearing problem
Cost: 19 mil. $
Box office: 18.2 mil. $ (US only)
= Big flop
[The only foreign number I can find is that just 36k people paid admission to see it in Sweden, (Allen came up with the idea while working on something Ingmar Bergman-related and Bergman's regular, Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist handles the camera, but the Swedes did not embrace the film significantly anyhow.) It should be said that the film is held in high esteem by many critics and film scholars, but I find it overrated.]
What do you think of Crimes and Misdemeanors?
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