Blue Jasmine: Superb study in self-delusion

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>Blue Jasmine</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony/bluejasmine/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>4.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for dramatic intensity, mature thematic material and brief profanity</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a> • </b></span>Originally published in <i><a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">The Davis Enterprise</a></i>, 8.9.13</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the first scene, we can’t take our eyes off her: an unholy cross between Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara and Gloria Swanson’s Norma Desmond, layered with the bland contempt that comes only from Manhattan socialites.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vV_M8J_SLBlfg_eE-X-CZ19CTViXDBLgrLl9fIat4RVLP_kkdyzuTw69Hdifq2P33ctJG76t90ZxmsfptNVSxcAMUo0fFXBSnBQKRYQ0DD_cJziVnllSsJ86N4tya2AP5UQpu6yXCJ0/s1600/Blue+Jasmine+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vV_M8J_SLBlfg_eE-X-CZ19CTViXDBLgrLl9fIat4RVLP_kkdyzuTw69Hdifq2P33ctJG76t90ZxmsfptNVSxcAMUo0fFXBSnBQKRYQ0DD_cJziVnllSsJ86N4tya2AP5UQpu6yXCJ0/s400/Blue+Jasmine+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">During a visit to New York, working-class Ginger (Sally Hawkins, right) encourages her<br />husband, Augie (Andrew Dice Clay, center right) to seek investment advice from the<br />wealthy and privileged Hal (Alec Baldwin), an aggressive Wall Street shark married to<br />Jasmine (Cate Blanchett). Ginger figures there's no downside; after all, Jasmine is her<br />sister, and nothing is more important than family ... right?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cate Blanchett’s title character in Woody Allen’s <i>Blue Jasmine</i> is a frightening creature: a woman so accustomed to aristocratic excess that she cannot fathom existence among the 99 percent. Yet she’s also a figure to be pitied, and that’s the hypnotic magic of Blanchett’s performance: We simultaneously loathe and feel sorry for her, wondering how somebody who once was an ordinary little girl, could have grown into an adult so cut off from her humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She’s Marie Antoinette or Eva Braun: a woman who can’t precisely be described as evil, because she really don’t know any better. Morality, integrity, loyalty, simple kindness ... these are qualities suited only for the common herd. Jasmine swans above such flawed behavior; she lives only for her own tightly compartmentalized pleasures, and for the attention lavished upon her by a doting and über-wealthy husband.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allen has written <i>really</i> close to the bone this time, with an unflinching dissection of the privileged, often vacuous wives who proudly stand alongside the Bernie Madoffs, as they blithely screw the rest of us. Do these women even perceive, let alone understand, the monsters they take to their beds each night?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allen has resurrected his career, phoenix-like, more times than I can count, and he’s once again on a roll: perhaps the best thus far. <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2011/06/midnight-in-paris-enchanted-dream.html">Midnight in Paris</a></i> was both clever and delightful: an adult fantasy that brought him another well-deserved Academy Award. <i>Blue Jasmine</i>, in turn, will do the same for Blanchett. I don’t care what comes out between now and Dec. 31; nobody will top her bravura performance in this film.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She’s nothing short of amazing, and <i>Blue Jasmine</i> stands among Allen’s finest works.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We meet Jasmine during a plane flight from New York to San Francisco, where she has arranged to live with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), while attempting to pull her life back together. Jasmine’s personality is revealed during this airborne prologue, for she has trapped a seat mate — an elderly woman too polite to object — into enduring a litany of self-centered justification.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don’t get many pertinent details, merely enough to understand the sheer torture that the oblivious Jasmine is inflicting on her temporary companion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things get worse, when Jasmine barely is able to navigate a taxi ride to Ginger’s modest apartment. We learn that Jasmine hasn’t had much use for Ginger until this moment, when no other options are available. Ginger is the working-class yin to Jasmine’s elegant, socialite yang: the country mouse worried that her citified relation will look about this small but attractive home, and find fault with everything. Which Jasmine does.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jasmine has fled the newspaper headlines and TV sound bites that have hounded her since husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) was arrested by the FBI and indicted for unspecified — but clearly serious — financial shenanigans that hurt many, many people. As we gradually learn, the victims included Ginger and her former husband, Augie (Andrew Dice Clay), who lost a lottery windfall that could have brightened their lives considerably.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fallout also torched Ginger’s marriage, yet she still opens her home to Jasmine, insisting — to all who comment — that Jasmine cannot be blamed for Hal’s misdeeds. Right from the start, Ginger doth protest too much, and her words ring false. Her new boyfriend, Chili (Bobby Cannavale), clearly shares such doubts; he probes with the obvious questions that Jasmine has tried to leave behind. Did she <i>really</i>not know?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We wonder, as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although pleading destitution, complaining about how the courts “ruined her life” by stripping her of all assets, forcing her to sell “everything” just to survive, Jasmine nonetheless arrives toting Louis Vuitton luggage. When Ginger, bewildered, tentatively suggests that her sister’s insistence on flying first class might have been financially unwise, Jasmine flies into a rage; she couldn’t <i>possibly</i> have endured the trip in coach.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jasmine’s saga subsequently unfolds in the present and the past, the latter granting us revealing glimpses of her life with Hal, pre-crisis, and the depths of her self-absorption. When Ginger and Augie fly to New York for a weeklong visit, during their happier times, Jasmine barely spares them a few hours; she’s always so <i>busy</i>, please understand, with the constant demands on her pampered life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we cringe, wanting to look away, wanting somebody to slap this useless creature upside the face, but knowing that’ll never happen. Yet we’re unable to look away, fascinated by the callous depths to which this woman sinks, every minute of every day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blanchett has plenty of experience with imperious roles, ranging from history’s Elizabeth I to fantasy’s Galadriel, not to mention hard-chargers such as Veronica Guerin and her spot-on impersonation of Katharine Hepburn. Here, Blanchett employs her intrinsic charisma to less palatable purposes: When fully erect, in command of her surroundings, Jasmine delivers every speech, every response, as if the listener should cherish each word as a gift from the gods.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sad part: Ginger buys into it. Hook, line and belittled, browbeaten sinker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blanchett has the flashy title role, but Hawkins matches her, scene for scene. She’s a British stalwart likely remembered from her starring role in 2010’s <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2011/01/made-in-dagenham-sew-fine.html">Made in Dagenham</a></i>, along with choice parts in recent films such as <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2010/10/never-let-me-go-this-one-wont-let-you.html">Never Let Me Go</a></i>, <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2011/03/jane-eyre-deliciously-swooning.html">Jane Eyre</a></i> and <i>Great Expectations</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hawkins’ Ginger is the ultimate enabler: She responds to the demands of family ties, even when they’re not deserved. She cowers in Jasmine’s shadow, flinching even before the next thinly veiled insult. The irony, of course, is that Ginger possesses all the nobler virtues that Jasmine wouldn’t even perceive, let alone possess; this working-class San Francisco woman has carved out a successful and reasonably happy life, while raising two rambunctious boys (who regard Jasmine akin to a creature from Neptune). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By rights, Ginger should despise Jasmine ... and yet she tries to accommodate this fragile, alien creature’s increasingly manic mood swings. That’s the other issue in this tragic tale: Jasmine is damaged goods even before she lands in San Francisco, and she gets worse, as days turn into weeks. Not since Catherine Deneuve went bonkers when left alone in that spooky apartment, in 1965’s <i>Repulsion</i>, has a woman come unglued so persuasively on screen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite this — despite knowing full well that Jasmine is toxic — Ginger responds to her sister’s barbed “compliments,” and, God forbid, tries to mold herself into a similarly “refined” woman. This means accepting Jasmine’s disgust over the “losers” Ginger has hooked up with: the ultimate hypocrisy, since Hal was the biggest loser of all. Correctly perceiving that he stands to lose Ginger in the face of such poisonous hostility, Chili begins to panic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so it goes, getting worse and worse, as details are filled in, and fresh traumas erupt, and we gradually get answers to key questions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allen’s films always are impeccably cast, and this one’s no exception; although Blanchett and Hawkins stand out, they’re in excellent company. Baldwin is spot-on as a smarmy Wall Street predator, and both Cannavale and Clay are persuasively credible as good-hearted lugs with limited means and flash-point tempers, but genuine love for the woman who has touched their hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peter Sarsgaard pops up in the second act as Dwight, a career diplomat on the relationship rebound, who is smitten by Jasmine’s beauty, sophistication and style. (By now, we know these traits are artifice; the vulnerable Dwight, alas, can’t see past her surface.) Comedian Louis C.K. plays Al, an amiable guy who catches Ginger’s attention when Jasmine drags her to an upscale party.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of this film is relentlessly serious, given its nature: a tone Allen has delivered quite well a few times before, recently with 2005’s <i>Match Point</i>. He shouldn’t be typed as a “comedy director,” and <i>Blue Jasmine</i> isn’t a funny film. That said, Allen takes an odd detour into pure burlesque, when Jasmine reluctantly accepts work as a dentist’s receptionist, and then discovers that her boss — Michael Stuhlbarg, as Dr. Flicker — hired her only because he’s hot for her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stuhlbarg can be viewed here as the bumbling, overly talkative Woody Allen surrogate, an exaggerated archetype that simply doesn’t belong here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similarly, the 1920s and ’30s jazz classics with which Allen peppers so many of his soundtracks — the sort of tunes by now firmly associated with Allen’s plain, white-text-on-black-background title credits — feel completely wrong in this, a firmly contemporary storyline. OK, I grant the ironic counterpoint a particular song title supplies to a given scene, and the fact that Rodgers and Hart’s “Blue Moon” evokes happier times for the increasingly fragile Jasmine ... but as a thematic whole, these ancient swing band hits occasionally take us out of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These relatively minor issues prevent the film from being perfect, but it’s still an extremely powerful indictment of casual, heartless entitlement, fueled by sensational actors who wring every drop of dramatic juice from Allen’s sharp-edged script.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You’ll not forget this one any time soon. It <i>lingers</i>, haunting our thoughts in the best possible way.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><!--EndFragment-->

2013 Alec Baldwin Andrew Dice Clay Bobby Cannavale Cate Blanchett drama Four Star Films Louis C.K. Michael Stuhlbarg Peter Sarsgaard Sally Hawkins Woody Allen Blue Jasmine: Superb study in self-delusion

Blue Jasmine   (2013) •  View trailer   4.5 stars. Rating: PG-13, for dramatic intensity, mature thematic material and brief profanity By  D...

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Woody Allen, Master of Suspense?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdCBaLPwrWstMYKgqVUZM_xuVsHIQNCkQZuYuSLh2zXabu9mcf5iU-E_0abwSR9B0rB_CZOfm9C0L3L4SfDff7c5sCJqvQnVqqS1cykTo8TtWaIo64BiWZTUcSiNcFT6oCGPYqY20pROW/s1600/movie+poster+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdCBaLPwrWstMYKgqVUZM_xuVsHIQNCkQZuYuSLh2zXabu9mcf5iU-E_0abwSR9B0rB_CZOfm9C0L3L4SfDff7c5sCJqvQnVqqS1cykTo8TtWaIo64BiWZTUcSiNcFT6oCGPYqY20pROW/s400/movie+poster+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This post is my contribution to The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made blogathon hosted by Tales of the Easily Distracted and Classic Becky's Brain Food. <a href="http://doriantb.blogspot.com/p/best-hitchcock-movies-that-hitchcock.html" style="color: #cc0000;" target="_blank">Click here</a> for more information and links to participating blogs.</span></span></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">~</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">On the face of it, the only thing Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen seem to have in common is the distinction of being aknowledged as preeminent auteurs. As Michael Newton put it in <i>The Guardian</i> earlier this year, </span><span style="font-size: small;">"Along with Alfred Hitchcock, Allen must be the most recognizable director in the history of cinema."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Hitchcock, who spent most of his career working within the studio system, developed the habit early on of planning and shooting his films so carefully that they were virtually immune to being re-cut by anyone else. Then, in 1954, he entered into a deal with Paramount that allowed him to work autonomously, provided generous production budgets and gave him ownership of those films he both produced and directed. Allen‘s career as a director took off in the 1970s, just as a new generation of independent-minded filmmakers swept into Hollywood. Almost from the beginning he had a remarkable arrangement with his financiers and distributors: as long as he stayed within budget he would have complete artistic freedom. Hitchcock, who began in the silent era, was influenced by German expressionism and Soviet montage theory and approached film as visual storytelling. Allen began as a writer and, naturally, has relied more on dialogue and use of the long master shot in his films. Hitchcock became synonymous with big movies with high production values while Allen has made films </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">with an "art house" sensibility and appeal</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"> on relatively small budgets. </span><br /><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">And yet, in 2005 Woody Allen made a film of distinctly “Hitchcockian” elements. <i>Match Point </i>is a sexy thriller about luck and morality set in modern-day London. The film showcases two intensely magnetic stars, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (<i>Bend it Like Beckham</i>, <i>Mission Impossible III</i>, <i style="color: black;">The Tudors</i>) and Scarlett Johansson (<i style="color: black;">Lost in Translation</i>, <i>Iron Man II</i>, <i>The Avengers</i>).</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"> </span> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZCcRkBMhllI" width="420"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose...</span></div><br />Chris Wilton (Rhys Meyers) is a former professional tennis player hired by a posh London tennis club as an instructor. There he meets Tom Hewett (<span style="color: black;">Matthew Goode</span><span style="color: red;"></span>), scion of an extremely moneyed British family. The two become friendly and when Tom discovers Chris enjoys opera, he invites him to join his family in their box at the Royal Opera House for a performance of <i style="color: black;">La Traviata</i>. There Chris meets Tom’s parents and his eligible and instantly smitten sister, Chloe (<span style="color: black;">Emily Mortimer</span>); romance blooms. Soon after, Chris meets Nola Rice (Johansson), Tom’s luscious fiancée, an aspiring American actress. While the Hewett progeny are attractive enough physically, their wealth, position and lifestyle of culture and privilege are even more appealing. Chris and Nola are good-looking, charismatic creatures and, much as each knows they are onto a good thing with their respective lovers, sparks fly between them.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2n2OOyQbXoQjCnWP-juxIsmlGPLNEEJ8hZZxfsC9DdVxZvavvsFSDCp_qXYQ0r20RhyphenhyphenvGOazvLJ5q7vo9BRGOcpQZA9i0peKjDIzf_8GTF7L1nnM-tpGEuG7d7eon3svGLATz_hH4Or5/s1600/Woody+Allen+blonde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2n2OOyQbXoQjCnWP-juxIsmlGPLNEEJ8hZZxfsC9DdVxZvavvsFSDCp_qXYQ0r20RhyphenhyphenvGOazvLJ5q7vo9BRGOcpQZA9i0peKjDIzf_8GTF7L1nnM-tpGEuG7d7eon3svGLATz_hH4Or5/s320/Woody+Allen+blonde.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson as Chris Wilton and Nola Rice</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This Woody Allen-penned, Oscar-nominated story could easily have appealed to Alfred Hitchcock who knew not only the value of a good, well-scripted story, but also made two films about tennis playing protagonists with problematic relationships and status issues who become involved in murder. In <i style="color: black;">Strangers on a Train</i> (1951), competitive tennis player Guy Haines aspires to a loftier position in life and hopes to divorce his small-town floozy wife so he can marry the daughter of a U.S. senator. In <i>Dial M for Murder</i> (1954), retired tennis player Tony Wendice, who has discovered that his wealthy wife has been carrying on a serious love affair, fears he may lose his meal ticket and cushy lifestyle.<br /><br />But before any inkling of murder surfaces in <i>Match Point</i>, Chris, who is headed for marriage to Chloe and a good job with “one of” her father’s companies, develops a fascination with Nola. When, one day, he runs into her on the street, the two end up having drinks together. They talk about themselves and their relationships with Chloe and Tom and the elder Hewetts. Nola remarks that Eleanor, Tom and Chloe’s mother, hates her but that Chris is more fortunate, he’s “being groomed.” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Nola: You’re going to do very well for yourself, unless you blow it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Chris: And how am I going to blow it?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Nola: By making a pass at me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Chris: What makes you think that’s going to happen?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Nola: Men always seem to wonder. They think I’d be something very special.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHduv9W5vE3va16FHrc2e6KXLo6eRZoR3h7Fm_hnEJ1TSCpENeuqZbX-pSoFqogmbn8Euom_aWidHRSOrFhyphenhyphenOQdQPxxqrQZ6OH0UZVCPNgFqGHXkl2AdSXc6MTJdHZ_Rd302iU8zQExGA/s1600/Chris+and+Nola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHduv9W5vE3va16FHrc2e6KXLo6eRZoR3h7Fm_hnEJ1TSCpENeuqZbX-pSoFqogmbn8Euom_aWidHRSOrFhyphenhyphenOQdQPxxqrQZ6OH0UZVCPNgFqGHXkl2AdSXc6MTJdHZ_Rd302iU8zQExGA/s320/Chris+and+Nola.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarlett Johansson will portray Janet Leigh In "Hitchcock" (2013)</td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">The two laugh, but Chris is powerfully tempted. Scarlett Johansson's Nola Rice begins as an assured, almost taunting beauty confident of her sexual appeal. She isn't quite the Grace Kelly version of the <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/08/hitchcock-blonde.html" style="color: #cc0000;" target="_blank">Hitchcock blonde</a>, but falls somewhere between the worldly hedonism of Ingrid Bergman at the beginning of <i>Notorious</i> (1946) and Kim Novak's subdued sultriness in <i>Vertigo</i> (1958). A blonde who flirts with danger, Nola is Hitchcock's kind of woman.</span><br /><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">When fate eventually provides the moment, the two indulge in a frenzy of passion, but Nola warns, "this can't lead anyplace." Chris goes on to marry Chloe and Tom later breaks off with Nola (Tom: "mother poisoned the well"). Chris adapts to life on the corporate fast track, he and Chloe move into a spectacular, glass-encased apartment overlooking the Thames and she is soon fixated on becoming pregnant. The vitality begins to drain from Chris's life. As luck will have it, he and Nola meet again and this time she, who is beginning to lose her self-confidence and show slight signs of wear, is available. A torrid affair begins. As Chris embarks on a double life, the atmosphere quickens with tension. When his romance with Nola hits the wall of reality and she begins to pose a threat, unrelenting suspense mounts until a neatly executed plot twist brings unexpected resolution.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NCNhPLortkk" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The man who said, "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life...</span></div><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">What helps to create the film's tension and suspense are themes and motifs that echo Hitchcock: </span><br /><ul><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>The Wrong Man</i> - Occasionally Hitchcock turned this theme on its head and the innocent man accused would be a secondary character rather than the protagonist. This character's sudden death puts an end to further police investigation. The device is employed in both <i>Blackmail </i>(1929) and <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> (1943)  - it also occurs in <i>Match Point</i>.</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>Doubles </i>- A recurrent Hitchcock theme in which two characters seem kindred spirits until their bond is broken. Classic examples are the relationships between Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony in <i>Stangers on a Train </i>and "the two Charlies" in <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Chris and Nola appear to be two of a kind when they meet over a ping pong table. But, as she learns, he plays "a very aggressive game."</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>Obsession</i> - <i>Vertigo</i> is a virtual meditation on obsession, but Hitchcock contemplated fascination several times. Young Charlie is enchanted by her Uncle Charlie in <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, Bruno is obsessed with Guy in <i>Strangers on a Train</i>, two young men are enthralled with a philosophy in <i>Rope </i>(1948), </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">in <i>Rear Window</i> (1954) </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">L.B. Jeffries becomes obsessed with his neighbors' lives and his belief that a murder has been committed.</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>The staircase motif</i> is an image Alfred Hitchcock used frequently - famously in <i>Suspicion </i>(1941), <i>Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Vertigo </i>and <i>Psycho </i>(1960). Staircases are prominently featured in <i>Match Point.</i></span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>The dominant mother</i> is another Hitchcock trademark. Mrs. Bates is a powerful unseen presence in <i>Psycho;</i> in <i>Notorious</i>, Mme. Sebastian has all but emasculated her son<i>. </i>Outspoken Eleanor Hewett's disapproval of Nola in <i>Match Point </i>is pivotal.</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>Landmarks</i> are common backdrops for important scenes </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">in Hitchcock films - t</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">he list is long, from the British Museum in <i>Blackmail</i> forward. <i>Match Point </i>showcases London landmarks including The Tate Modern museum, The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the stunning Parliament View Apartments and The Queen's Club. Unlike Allen's treatment of New York in <i>Manhattan </i>(1979), <i>Match Point </i>is no homage to a city, rather, the attractions of London enhance the film's narrative.</span></li></ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9cI720lOtaqflVMPBJ217t6ro2B7ht5inyWq1nbbPzTFLtVhJkFRMBnr_BrV7v3yRtqY4wB-AwRsDFp2jCZkQut_2Ah-4RXR9WkWlfWhP445TrHtYkbzyX42nbv98P_l4fR4zB1bh1tP/s1600/jonathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9cI720lOtaqflVMPBJ217t6ro2B7ht5inyWq1nbbPzTFLtVhJkFRMBnr_BrV7v3yRtqY4wB-AwRsDFp2jCZkQut_2Ah-4RXR9WkWlfWhP445TrHtYkbzyX42nbv98P_l4fR4zB1bh1tP/s320/jonathan.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Rhys Meyers</td></tr></tbody></table>As well known for his ability to cast a film as Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen has said that his philosophy is to “hire the best actors, shut up and get out of their way.” One of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Match Point</i>’s great strengths is its cast, especially Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the central role. His Chris Wilton subtly and evocatively transforms from a beguiling “boy from Ireland come to London” who would like to do something special with his life, to a remote and preoccupied rising executive with dark secrets on his compliant conscience. Rhys Meyer’s sympathetic introduction along with selective point-of-view camera work engages the viewer; Chris is captivating. By the time he has fallen into desperation and is entangled in murder, we find ourselves complicit and anxious about his fate. Hitchcock managed this trick many times with his proclivity for point-of-view editing and masterful casting. Who could help but identify with Robert Walker’s Bruno Anthony in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strangers on a Train</i> as he struggles to retrieve a lighter from a drain so that he can plant it as false evidence? Who doesn't share the nervousness of Anthony Perkins’s Norman Bates in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psycho </i>as he waits for a car to sink after he’s pushed it into a swamp? <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Woody Allen was elated with <i>Match Point </i>and was widely quoted at the time of its release in 2005 that he considered it his best film to date. Everything had come together, he said, and the production had been blessed with luck. Every actor exceeded his expectations, there was no trouble gaining access to desired locations and even the weather cooperated. He reflected that the storyline lent itself to the film medium and he’d been able to take advantage of that, focusing on action as much as dialogue. The movie, best described as a “moral thriller,” was his first successful drama and reinvigorated his career. Allen’s screenplay was nominated for an Oscar and Jonathan Rhys Meyers was awarded the Chopard Trophy at Cannes.</span></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOL6IHJ0NTX2F3qAzyslae25Hj15HoUtQUsU9nrcKarhXkvM-H_-8l2msWJmH3U_wPb3-nbfhnyCy2R5oAOE2pGXgu7g6SbTwdk2Tvscf83K3sp58aqhSJEECyWWAjHFbCJ-VMbF49-QP/s1600/woody+and+his+blonde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOL6IHJ0NTX2F3qAzyslae25Hj15HoUtQUsU9nrcKarhXkvM-H_-8l2msWJmH3U_wPb3-nbfhnyCy2R5oAOE2pGXgu7g6SbTwdk2Tvscf83K3sp58aqhSJEECyWWAjHFbCJ-VMbF49-QP/s320/woody+and+his+blonde.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filming <i>Match Point</i>: Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen on the set</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">~</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u><b>Sources</b></u>:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Conversations with Woody Allen</i> by Eric Lax, Knopf (2007)</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Woody Allen: cinema's great experimentalist</i> by Michael Newton<i>, The Guardian</i>, January 13, 2012 (quote only)</span></span></div></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Blackmail Dial M for Murder Jonathan Rhys Meyers Match Point Notorious Psycho Scarlett Johansson Shadow of a Doubt Strangers on a Train The Lady Eve (author) Vertigo Woody Allen Woody Allen, Master of Suspense?

This post is my contribution to The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made blogathon hosted by Tales of the Easily Distracted and Classic...

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Family Thanksgivings: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4AubQ9ADu-q9BvOe0AXzGkw55yicnSISyaqmcsdN2nEsZAPKOM1N544oPpAqxXMJbzvhIqkYjZdlNqmri1b6q-PKzhq3g9_dSGssVCnlTSfa3iQD66LzOYS2ckI423cNHjufDqJtqg9l/s1600/hannah+and+her+thanxgiving+dinner3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4AubQ9ADu-q9BvOe0AXzGkw55yicnSISyaqmcsdN2nEsZAPKOM1N544oPpAqxXMJbzvhIqkYjZdlNqmri1b6q-PKzhq3g9_dSGssVCnlTSfa3iQD66LzOYS2ckI423cNHjufDqJtqg9l/s400/hannah+and+her+thanxgiving+dinner3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm looking forward to spending some time with one of my favorite families </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">over the coming Thanksgiving weekend,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hannah and Her Sisters </i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(as well as her other relatives and friends).</span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNR8aL9oETkVJi-cGRY-3iQ0UKLaqOzJ4CcL28LJvkOqKojEq9bT3PhI4ZieCvbXqNDtDTkzRXusoUYr7rj6Q0UTZaPi2wg2ZKGrKqRxcKFLaPaGMfspKb3FYfp8ZpiWEBh-Szo7BbDn5/s1600/hannah+and+dianne+with+oscar+two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNR8aL9oETkVJi-cGRY-3iQ0UKLaqOzJ4CcL28LJvkOqKojEq9bT3PhI4ZieCvbXqNDtDTkzRXusoUYr7rj6Q0UTZaPi2wg2ZKGrKqRxcKFLaPaGMfspKb3FYfp8ZpiWEBh-Szo7BbDn5/s200/hannah+and+dianne+with+oscar+two.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Dianne Wiest, Oscar winner</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i>, Woody Allen's, by turns, clever and outright hilarious 1986 classic, has been judged by many as his best film of the 1980s, but I think it might well be the best of his best work. Allen's own Oscar-winning script is a tour de force testament to his dazzling facility as a screenwriter - who has a record 14 screenplay Oscar nominations to his credit; he's won two (the first for <i>Annie Hall </i>in<i> </i>1977). Two member's of the film's superb ensemble cast, Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine, were awarded supporting Oscars for their portrayals. Allen himself delivers one of his very best performances and Max von Sydow (who has some of the film's best lines, which is saying something) and Lloyd Nolan are especially memorable in slightly-more-than-cameo roles.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The film begins with one family Thanksgiving dinner and ends with another. Opening credits roll as the Harry James Orchestra croons "You Made Me Love You," and the story begins to the same band's snappy version of "I've Heard That Song Before." It is Thanksgiving in Manhattan and Hannah's family comes together in her spacious, character-soaked, softly-lit Upper West Side apartment. The parents of Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters, a crusty and eccentric pair of old-school show biz troupers (Lloyd Nolan and Maureen O'Sullivan) take a moment to sit down at the piano and sing a duet on "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," a tune that recurs, usually by way of tinkling ivory keys, throughout the film. Meanwhile, Hannah's husband Elliott (Michael Caine) has been ruminating on his fascination with his sister-in-law Lee (Barbara Hershey).</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sLlQSSHX91Md5ENUytI0SykeSSVeVfwkMIv9ALvUIF8ePK408MkIRpypLy6Nq2E7ocKp9Kq2ND0vPF8kTA2MbyB2dmbV_6fMD6neoJFFV2CAKKFP0DUPMWA1ZxueZQm32uM6YeOBZZX6/s1600/hannah+and+her+parents+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sLlQSSHX91Md5ENUytI0SykeSSVeVfwkMIv9ALvUIF8ePK408MkIRpypLy6Nq2E7ocKp9Kq2ND0vPF8kTA2MbyB2dmbV_6fMD6neoJFFV2CAKKFP0DUPMWA1ZxueZQm32uM6YeOBZZX6/s200/hannah+and+her+parents+2.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Sullivan and Nolan</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A tumble of interconnected episodes from the lives of family and friends flows between the two Thanksgivings. Mickey (Woody Allen), ex-husband of Hannah and future husband of her sister Holly (Dianne Wiest), endures a health crisis that leads to a spiritual crisis; Lee is unfaithful to her long-time lover (Max von Sydow) with Elliott. Bickering between the sisters' parents gets ugly and leads to bawdy, if amusing, accusations.  Along the way, flashbacks reveal bizarre and comical past events (bad first dates are traditional fodder for hilarity, but who knew infertility could be entertaining?). By the second Thanksgiving, life seems to be on a more harmonious course for <i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i>. Elliott and Hannah are once again content with each other, Lee has married an entirely new man and Holly and Mickey, who once went through a date from hell, are now wed. A maid fusses with candles on the dining table, "I'm in Love Again" can be heard in the background, on piano, and one of the couples shares a private, irony-tinged moment...fade to black.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHzWHpab-atbFtp3a2Xbd0t_SmdJrkejdDc0LzRDN5EF_BYUf89n8h7tHsdvZXxe5v-5QdMsVNWb1gf428eKMPY7wnKsJsX1vmhacFzlFEzd7EB0CDpO54ZVzTMZ69cyWyFiF54ZsUEGM/s1600/Hannah+and+central+park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHzWHpab-atbFtp3a2Xbd0t_SmdJrkejdDc0LzRDN5EF_BYUf89n8h7tHsdvZXxe5v-5QdMsVNWb1gf428eKMPY7wnKsJsX1vmhacFzlFEzd7EB0CDpO54ZVzTMZ69cyWyFiF54ZsUEGM/s320/Hannah+and+central+park.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">'Holly and Mickey' in Central Park</span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As so often with Woody Allen's films, Manhattan's captivating presence lingers in the background...Central Park, Greenwich Village, 5th Avenue, the Chrysler Building, Columbia University, The Carlyle Hotel, CBGB's - east side, west side, all around the town - accompanied by scintillating tunes that kick the impact of story and scenery up a notch. The soundtrack is saturated with some of the great American standards of 20th century song: "Where or When," "You Are Too Beautiful," "Isn't it Romantic," "If I Had You," a Dave Brubeck version of  "I Remember You," Count Basie's "The Trot," "The Way You Look Tonight" sung by Carrie Fisher, "I'm Old-Fashioned" sung by Dianne Wiest - not to mention Bobby Short performing "I'm in Love Again" at the Carlyle.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">..plus interludes of Bach and even a moment of "Madame Butterfly." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i> brims with warmth as it casts its wry gaze on the misadventures of its confused but not-difficult-to-relate-to characters. A fully realized reflection on love, life and family, the film earned three Academy Awards (Weist, Caine, Allen) and was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, art direction and editing.  It is a gem.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">~</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The gifted Mr. Allen, now 75, is the auteur director of more than 40 films over the past 45 years, a writer on nearly 60 films and actor in 40+. Along with his screenwriting Oscars, he's won a Best Director award for <i>Annie Hall</i>. Allen began as a comedy writer for Sid Caesar's popular <i>Show of Shows</i> during TV's golden age, became a successful stand-up comedian, had short stories published in <i>The New Yorker</i> and wrote two Broadway hits, <i>Don't Drink the Water </i>and <i>Play it Again, Sam</i>. Today he continues to make films and also performs as a classic New Orleans-style jazz clarinetist.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZNXlUG13fCirAHP3UWsGC5iZBwQ2u3OYcZuJB6OqBgawBMWbMUos784ffigBMx_lns6E9HX2_XEm6VCisn6n2QeDSn9T3Mfo8nczUwW05x89N2PrEXs-Kf-3iVoGucxjMJszuNCu8jhc/s1600/HannahSistersSet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZNXlUG13fCirAHP3UWsGC5iZBwQ2u3OYcZuJB6OqBgawBMWbMUos784ffigBMx_lns6E9HX2_XEm6VCisn6n2QeDSn9T3Mfo8nczUwW05x89N2PrEXs-Kf-3iVoGucxjMJszuNCu8jhc/s320/HannahSistersSet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Woody Allen (center) on the set of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hannah and her Sisters</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Woody Allen has had one of the most prolific, varied and celebrated careers of the 20th and 21st centuries. My own favorites of his films are <i>Hannah and Her Sisters </i>and <i>Bullets Over Broadway </i>(1994). Also on my list are <i>Match Point </i>(2005), <i>Broadway Danny Rose </i>(1984), <i>Stardust Memories </i>(1980) and <i>Play it Again, Sam </i>(1972). I haven't seen every one of his films (including this year's <i>Midnight in Paris</i>, but soon) and haven't loved everything he's done (<i>Curse of the Jade Scorpion </i>and <i>Interiors</i> come to mind), but I much admire his lifelong devotion to creatively exploring and expressing his own unique personal vision - and I deeply appreciate the decades of intelligent entertainment and long, loud laughs he has given me...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Many thanks to Chris of Movies Unlimited's MovieFanFare website and Ivan of LAMB's 'Classic Chops' for republishing this post during Thanksgiving week.</i> </span></div>

Barbara Hershey Dianne Wiest Hannah and Her Sisters Lloyd Nolan Maureen O'Sullivan Max von Sydow Mia Farrow Michael Caine The Lady Eve (author) Woody Allen Family Thanksgivings: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

I'm looking forward to spending some time with one of my favorite families over the coming Thanksgiving weekend, Hannah and Her Sisters...

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