Review of Deconstructing Harry (1997) by Tim L — 08 Feb 2010

Rather disjointed and difficult to get into, and characters that it's difficult to care about (some of the acting leaves a lot to be desired). However, the script and plot are razer sharp and edgier than any other Woody film I've seen, showing that he is still capable of surprising us, even into his 70's (I never thought I'd hear him say the 'C' word for example!).

Although I found it less easy to connect with than his other highlights of the 90's (Sweet and Lowdown and Mighty Aphrodite), it stands up as one of his most original and provocative films of any decade.

The twists here to the usual 'formula' of intellectual neurosis is an erratic editing technique (chopping out whole sections within a scene to give it more of an immediate, confrontational feel) and the interaction between 'real life' informing his character's writing and his writing 'leaking' into his own 'reality' (such as his short story characters confronting him in his daily life). This makes for a confusing watch at times, but is well done as a way to watch the film from his own confused point of view.

Not what I had expected at all, and certainly worth a watch, but not as 'entertaining' as some of his other films, though certainly one of his most challenging and interesting in it's execution.