Review of Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) by Vance G — 25 Dec 2007

I've heard so much about this flick, so many good things (I've heard it said several times that this was Woody Allen's best movie) and I really was not so impressed. It's basically Manhattan crossed with Match Point, the main argument against Match Point having been "it's a rip-off of Crimes & Misdemeanors" which is moot since it's also so much more engaging.

Martin Landau is almost comically over-the-top, although it's the character that's flawed and not necessarily the performance. The Landau story is boring and slow and Landau's reactions are not appropriate; Woody's story is better, and ever then, it's a weaker Woody story.