Review of Love and Death (2013) by Harry W — 16 Oct 2014

One of Woody Allenâ??s pre-Annie Hall collaborations with Diane Keaton, Love and Death sounded like a fun romp.

Personally, Iâ??m not too sure of the quality of a lot of the satire in Love and Death. It is said to be a parody of Russian literature, but this is something I have never studied. The film had a certain interesting blend of legitimate dialogue and satire which meant that it worked really well as a self-parody, but I just feel like I cannot truly appreciate it as much as many others as Russian literature is not something I am too familiar with. I picked up on some of the themes, but only so much of them, so Iâ??m not precisely the ideal audience of Love and Death. Still, I admired the fact that Woody Allen took an ambitious direction with the film.

Love and Death is a far from perfect film and as with many Woody Allen films the comedy is somewhat aged, but it still has the same natural charm of a lot of his films. Even though it isnâ??t perfect as the narrative intentions seem unclear, it is an entertaining romp which is both silly and thought provoking, enough to compensate for its story flaws.

The film structure feels largely like a series of sketches, a lot like Woody Allenâ??s film Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). But the difference between that and Love and Death is that the latter actually has a direct narrative. By todayâ??s standards, it feels like it uneasily walks the line between being a series of vignettes and a single story. Perhaps that is part of the silly gimmick of the Woody Allen film, but I just feel as if the general tone of the film doesnâ??t line up particularly well with a lot of his better works. Still, there is a certain level of charm to it which makes it an interesting nostalgic piece to a time where comedy films were different and Woody Allen was one of the most popular creators of comedy movies.

The atmosphere in Love and Death is very good. It has a lot of interesting messages lying in the screenplay which crosses with some iconic Woody Allen characters who bring fish out of water type of laughs to the film. Like I said, the film works as a self-parody because it raises some legitimate ideas and pokes fun at them at the same time thanks to Woody Allenâ??s cleverly crafted screenplay. The dialogue in the film raises some intelligent concepts in its characters that all make intriguing points about life, love and death as the title would suggest. The story itself is a rather thin one and the progress of the characters through it is not that great as they are mostly thinly sketched to fit into the light comic nature of the film, but it is easy to find appeal in the distinctively Wood Allen style of charming comedy. The contrast between intelligent ideas and satirical humour makes for an interesting if inconsistent experience, and the energy in the film makes it easily watchable. Itâ??s not hard to see why Woody Allen considered that his funniest film up until that period in time because it follows his standardised method of filmmaking but takes a clever new direction with the material, and so it is definitely one of his much more original pieces. Itâ??s just that itâ??s packed full of so many concepts and sudden changes in plot dynamics with random bouts of humour that it can end up as a little too much to keep consistent. Love and Death is certainly a good film, but it is hardly the most consistent and that is really its primary flaw.

As with all Woody Allen films, it goes a long way on a low budget. The production design of Love and Death is clever enough to look appropriately fake and real at the same time which matches the self-parody. It gives the film a lot of colour against the backdrop of the versatile scenery which is all captured with very nice cinematography, giving the film a positive visual appeal.

And the cast in Love and Death manage to turn in energetic performances.

As always, Woody Allen fits the lead role greatly. Working with his own clever screenplay, Woody Allen puts his stereotypical nebbish archetype into the lead role and gives his performance the exact edge it needs. He delivers all of his lines with the appropriate neuroticism and comic energy while also speaking passionately during the scenes which require him to ask strong questions about society and life. His performance is spot on because the character he crafts for himself is performed excellently, reacting to all the stimulus in the film with strong physical involvement and dedication to line delivery. He leads Love and Death as well as ever without ever having to resort to stereotypes too much, and his interactions with the universe of the film and other characters are all really grand.

Diane Keaton also does an excellent job. Sharing a powerful chemistry with Woody Allen, the two of them make a dynamic duo once again. She manages to mix the energy of an airhead with the education of a truly intelligent person which makes her character an interesting and likable one which capitalises on her abilities as a comic actress as well as her skill for delivering intelligent and thought provoking material. It finds a fine balance between her abilities and conjures a strong character out of the role, rendering her a lead who is both likable and interesting. Diane Keaton does a fine job leading Life and Death, and she fits into the universe of the film with grand ease.

So although Love and Death is inconsistent due to a puzzling narrative and an unclear structure, it is both a funny and thought provoking piece which capitalises on Woody Allenâ??s talents for writing a strong screenplay as well as his abilities acting alongside Diane Keaton.