Review of Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) by Devon B — 01 Apr 2010
Woody Allen makes a Coen brothers film, which resembles a cross between Manhattan and A Serious Man (or perhaps even Blood Simple). The plot is woven together in a manner that blends Allen's previous comedies with a more esoteric style of narration, especially in the way he sprinkles symbolism in at the perfect moments.
An opthamologist (Martin Landau) is having an affair with a woman (Anjelica Huston) who wants to reveal the whole thing to his wife. She is constantly hounding him like the voice of his conscience. He decides to go to his nefarious brother (Jerry Orbach) with his underworld connections to see what he can do to help.
One of the opthamologist's patients is a rabbi who's losing his sight. The rabbi's brother Lester (Alan Alda) is a big time television producer who's having a PBS documentary made about his life.
He asks his nebbish brother-in-law, Cliff (Woody Allen), who's an aspiring film-maker himself, to do the documentary, not because he respects his work but soley as a favor to his sister (because he feels sorry for her, having married such a bum).
Cliff can't stands Lester, and takes to mocking him behind his back with the PBS producer (Mia Farrow). The two strike up a friendship, and Cliff starts contemplating leaving his wife for this woman.
The storylines between the opthamologist and the film-maker rarely intersect, but they seem to parallel each other in other ways. They've both made mistakes with their lives and take a chance on correcting those mistakes, and neither one is really happy with the outcome.
At best, they come to terms with it, and justify their own misery. I've read that this film is about showing the weakness of God, that if God sits back and watches us do the wrong thing, doesn't that make him our accomplice? Or at the very least, he just doesn't care.
No justice is meted out from above on the wicked, the only guilt or innocence one experiences comes from within. It's definitely one of the best films of all time.
This review of Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) was written by Devon B on 01 Apr 2010.
Crimes and Misdemeanors has generally received very positive reviews.
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